Friend here illegally needs medical help

[clairey]

Interesting! Where on earth did they dig up that requirement? It simply does not exist!

I know! It drives me up the wall that the receptionist at the hospital (and this is no dig at receptionists, as I'm one myself!) is telling people that when she clearly knows nothing about the rules! It just makes me so angry.

[clairey]

He's just tried calling the number to check entitlement to work at the Home Office to ask if he's entitled to NHS treatment. Their response? "Yeah, probably. Actually, we don't know".

If he has this letter from the Home Office, does this qualify as leave to enter? They seem to have no problem with his being in the UK whilst his application is being considered. Only on the Department of Health website it says:

"Under the current Regulations anyone who comes to the UK to take up permanent residence is fully exempt from charges for National Health Service (NHS) hospital treatment in England. A person who has been given leave to enter the UK by the Home Office to marry someone who is ordinarily resident here may be regarded as taking up permanent residence, and therefore exempt from charges for NHS hospital treatment."

Now I know they're not getting married, so they don't have a CoA, but they are applying as a durable relationship akin to marriage. Any thoughts?

[John]

Contact the MP urgently. Contact the hospital and make it clear that he will sue them if the delay in providing treatment causes his health to deteriorate ... that might just apply the mind!

And make it clear that living in the UK for 12 months is just one of the possibilities ... not the only one.

Durable relationship? How long have they been living together?

[clairey]

I've emailed and left a message for our MP - fingers crossed he'll get back to us. We'll go and see him at his open surgery on Friday anyway.

They are juuuust coming up for 2 years together - by the time the Home Office get round to their case, it will no doubt be over the 2 years!

I just really want to find out where he stands according to the law, not according to whoever picks up the phone that day. Everytime I speak to him and his fiancée now, I can hear the desperation in their voices and it makes me feel so bad that as a British citizen, I can't find out what to do.

[clairey]

GOOD NEWS!!!

After another round of phone calls, I managed to get through to the Overseas Visitors Policy & NHS Costs Recovery Manager at the Department of Health. He confirmed what the receptionist was telling my friend was rubbish, and told me that as long as my friend was legally entitled to work, and was actually working, he would be exempt from NHS charges! So today he went back to the hospital with his EEA2 confirmation of application letter confirming he could work, and a letter from his employers and some pay slips. A quick phone call by hospital staff to said Overseas Visitors Policy & NHS Costs Recovery Manager, and hey presto - he can start his chemotherapy!!!!

I think we'll still go to see our MP as a back up - you never know, he might give the IND a boot up the backside!!

Thanks for everyone's support!

Claire

[John]

Claire .. .great news!

Also, hopefully as just a backup .... detailed notes should be kept ... dates and events ... so that should it become clear that the delay in providing the needed chemotherapy has caused his health to deteriorate .... then he will be better placed to take any legal action.

Failure to keep the notes of dates and events cuts out that possibility.

[jes2jes]

GOOD NEWS!!!

After another round of phone calls, I managed to get through to the Overseas Visitors Policy & NHS Costs Recovery Manager at the Department of Health. He confirmed what the receptionist was telling my friend was rubbish, and told me that as long as my friend was legally entitled to work, and was actually working, he would be exempt from NHS charges! So today he went back to the hospital with his EEA2 confirmation of application letter confirming he could work, and a letter from his employers and some pay slips. A quick phone call by hospital staff to said Overseas Visitors Policy & NHS Costs Recovery Manager, and hey presto - he can start his chemotherapy!!!!

I think we'll still go to see our MP as a back up - you never know, he might give the IND a boot up the backside!!

Thanks for everyone's support!

Claire

Congratulations. I wish your friend all the best for his treatment. You have really shown persistence throughout this and never gave up. Thumbs up!

[clairey]

John, jes2jes,

Thank you so much for your support.

John, you're right, I've made him keep every bit of paper in a folder in order of date, and I made him ask the names and position of everyone he spoke to. I think he thinks I'm mad!

Now it's just fingers crossed that the chemo kicks the cancer! I feel like a weight has been lifted, so goodness knows how they are feeling! If we get a positive from the Home Office as well, that would be good!

All I need to do now is help another friend with their IND forms, and then start thinking about my husband's application for ILR at the end of March!!