It was initially encouraging to hear in the Queen’s Speech that the government are planning to do something about ‘Health Tourism’. I say ‘initially’ because a little research revealed that successive governments have made similar promises dating back to the days of Brown and Blair.

I would hate us to have a society where genuine visitors to our country would be left lying in the street because they are unable to produce details of their medical insurance or a triple platinum credit card in times of dire need. On the other hand, I resent deeply that our taxes are paying for the cancer treatment or heart operations of people who have travelled from wherever in Europe for the sole purpose of getting treatment from our health service. Somewhere between these two unpalatable extremes lies a solution that means we are not as callous as some western nations are alleged to be, but not a soft touch either.

Maternity tourism is apparently an escalating problem. Women from other countries arrive in the UK on visitor’s visas late in their pregnancies, often after detecting complications. They turn up in labour at hospitals who cannot turn the patient away; but when later presented with a bill the women claim that the circumstances of their childbirth qualify as an emergency.

There are numerous examples of visitors arriving in the UK and turning up at hospitals with kidney failure and needing dialysis, which can continue for months.

A junior doctor at a hospital near Heathrow recently wrote ‘Every single week, I see people who have been flown in from all over the world with a variety of extremely serious health problems. Many of these people had to be wheel-chaired on to the plane because they were too unwell to walk on board. I understand the temptation to come to Britain, but we often have our Intensive Therapy Unit full of patients without NHS numbers who are there for weeks or months with no means or intention to pay, which impacts on our resources.’ It makes it even less acceptable when for financial reasons medical services are being reduced everywhere, as residents in this area are only too familiar.

It is not callous or xenophobic to insist that protection should be afforded to those who pay their taxes and National Insurance contributions. If that means a stricter attitude to abuse by overseas nationals, then so be it.