With news reports raising concerns about rising waiting lists in the UK, the ratification of an EU Directive may help relieve pressure on an increasingly overburdened NHS. Few patients know that they have a right, in certain circumstances, to seek treatment in other European states and for the cost of treatment to be reimbursed by the NHS.
As the NHS comes under pressure to reduce spending, a new guide to patients’ rights under the recently ratified EU Directive on Cross Border healthcare will help patients to explore the options for treatment in another EU state, funded by the NHS.
The new EU directive allows patients to travel within Europe for medical treatment. With today’s news reports raising concerns about rising waiting lists, the ratification of the Directive may help relieve pressure on an increasingly overburdened NHS. Few patients know that they have a right, in certain circumstances, to seek treatment in other European states and for the cost of treatment to be reimbursed by the NHS. And even fewer know how to go about exercising their right to treatment elsewhere within the EU.
“Your Rights to Treatment in Europe - a UK patient’s guide to the European Directive on Cross Border Healthcare” has been launched by Treatment Abroad, the leading online portal for medical travel and medical tourism. The guide will help patients understand what their rights are, what they are entitled to and how to go about exercising their rights. It is aimed at clearing up any confusion patients may have about their rights to travel for treatment elsewhere within the EU.
The
32 page guide is free to download as a PDF.
EU citizens have always had the right to travel within Europe for healthcare; the new Directive puts a formal framework around various judgements made by the European Court of Justice. Few people know that that provided they meet certain criteria the NHS will reimburse the costs of the treatment (but not travel expenses) up to the NHS cost for that treatment.
Treatment Abroad is the largest online resource for patients seeking information about travelling abroad for medical treatment. The team at Treatment Abroad consulted and worked closely with the EU & International Cross Border Health & Competition Policy Team at the UK Department of Health when compiling the “Your Rights to Treatment In Europe” guide to ensure the guide’s accuracy.
Keith Pollard, Managing Director of
Intuition Communication Ltd, publishers of the Guide says: “We felt it was important to publish this guide because while UK Citizens have always had the right to cross border healthcare within the European Union very few are aware of their rights. As NHS patients they can choose and access health care in other EU states, reimbursed by the NHS. The guide gives clear information and advice that will help patients understand what they are entitled to under the framework of the new EU Directive.”
