Tories plan health screening of all immigrants

The shadow health secretary yesterday reiterated the
Conservatives’ plans for compulsory health screening for people
coming to stay in Britain as he outlined the party’s health
proposals at their conference in Blackpool, writes
Clare Jerrom.

Liam Fox said that the National Health Service should not be
allowed to become “the international health honey-pot”,
and pledged that a future conservative government would ensure that
this would not be the case.

“We are perfectly willing to give care to those who need
it, and are genuinely entitled to come to this country”, said
Fox “that is our moral duty”.

“But we also have a duty to ensure that our own citizens
who have paid for these services get the priority they
deserve” he added.

Fox claims that there are higher rates of tuberculosis in Brent,
north London than Azerbaijan and higher rates in Newham, east
London than Uzbekistan and said “it cannot be allowed to
continue”.

The Tories would base a new public health law on the model
adopted in Australia to ensure that those people coming to reside
in Britain would satisfy three tests.

The Conservatives would also introduce health entitlement cards
to prevent “health tourists” using the NHS free of
charge.

Fox said that the party would introduce a public health
commissioner and outlined plans for “patient
passports”.  This would enable patients to undergo operations
anywhere inside the NHS entirely free, and if the patient chose to
have treatment outside the NHS they would be given 60 per cent off
the standard NHS price for the operation to go towards their
treatment.

The Tories would also establish an independent NHS Board to
allocate funding within the NHS in a “fair and
transparent” way. They intend to take some powers away from
the Department of Health, and reduce the power politicians have in
the day-to-day running of the NHS.