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Man's £54,000 NHS cancer bill raises ethical questions that can't be ignored

The Royal Marsden said Albert Thompson’s treatment requires payment. It’s the first step in applying the same logic to us all

The case of Albert Thompson*, a 63-year-old man originally from Jamaica who has lived in the UK for 30 years being denied cancer treatment, has raised a worrying precedent that should worry all NHS workers and patients alike. Over the past year, NHS staff have been used as an unofficial arm of the immigration service. For those of us who work in the health service to help people in their hour or need, to demand to look at someone’s passport is anathema to why we chose to work in this sector. When I see a patient with a brain tumour, my instincts are not to ask where they were born, check their back accounts and look at their visa stamp.

I am a brain surgeon and putting me in a position where I distribute care according to an immigration status puts unnecessary strain on a patient relationship where trust must be established quickly and effectively. It also flies in the face of the underlying principle of the NHS.

Related: My dad was a GP for 40 years. The NHS let him down when he needed it most

Related: The NHS is under threat. Only a new model of care will save it | Kailash Chand

Continue reading... March 29, 2018 at 06:36PM

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