On 13/02/2018 16:25, pamela wrote:
On 16:04 13 Feb 2018, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

In article ,
pamela wrote:
I suggest you read the bit I was responding to. That's why I
don't just cut and paste the entire thread.

Below is your message that I replied to in its entirety. It
seems to have its own context. I replied to say health tourists
come here because their care will be free and are not drawn here
because the NHS is the best.

------------------------- START -------------------------
In article ,
Tim Streater wrote:

Yes, there is this conceit here that the NHS is "the envy of
the world". Whereas in fact in countries I have lived in, no
one has ever heard of the NHS. Those overseas watching the 2012
Olympics must have been bemused.

So you didn't notice the part about no one abroad ever even having
heard of the NHS? Meaning those health tourists simply picked this
country at random?


Health tourists picked the NHS because for decades it never checked the
elgbility of those who used it.

I heard from friends in Asia how one trick they had been advised was to
visit to the UK whilst close to giving birth and let the NHS handle it.
Not only do you get higher standard of birthcare than in the 3rd world
but the baby is a British citizen and can bring in the rest of the
family.

Strewth. I sincerely hope this sort of loophole has been closed.


This happened in Ireland, and the entire family then got Irish
citizenship. Irish maternity services were being swamped by africans
playing this trick and the loophole was only closed about 10 years
ago.

Naturally, once they had an EU passport, it was whoosh, off to London
to get a free council house.