The statutory provisions which enable overseas visitors to be charged for NHS treatment are found in section 175 of the National Health Service Act 2006. Section 175 allows the Secretary of State for Health to make regulations for making and recovery of charges in relation to any person who is not ordinarily resident in Great Britain for any NHS services provided to them. They also give him powers to calculate such charges on an appropriate commercial basis. These powers are devolved to the relevant NHS bodies in England.
The National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations January 2023 place a legal obligation on a relevant NHS body to make and recover charges for NHS treatment provided by that relevant NHS body. The Trust therefore has a legal obligation to ensure that patients who are not ordinarily resident in the UK are identified, that their liability for charges is assessed in accordance with the Charging Regulations, that those liable to pay are charged in accordance with the Charging Regulations and that those charges are recovered.
