Plan to target health tourists
HEALTH chiefs are to crack down on "health tourism" by demanding upfront payment from patients who don't qualify for free NHS care.
The health board said people securing free care from other countries, then failing to pay for it, was a drain on resources.
Now NHS Lothian is looking at the possibility of asking for upfront payment for non-urgent procedures.
The organisation's chief executive James Barbour said they may consider a scheme run by hospital bosses in London, where a deposit was required ahead of the healthcare.