29/09/2014
A Southampton hospital run by Solent NHS Trust refused to provide treatment to a British live-in carer terminally ill with cancer.
58-year-old Sue Gentry told the Southern Daily Echo that she felt gutted upon receiving notice that she only has 28 days left to stay in Southampton-based Western Community Hospital.
Sue and her husband Barry work as live-in carers in the UK but have their residence in Spain. While they have been remitting National Insurance contributions and are paying income taxes, they are not qualified for NHS hospital treatment.
Under the current rules, entitlement to NHS treatment is determined by the length and purpose of the applicant’s residency. Those deemed as ordinarily residents of the UK will be afforded treatment even if they are not British nationals.
Sue’s cancer has already metastasised into her spine and she is unable to take long walks and is mostly confined to a wheelchair. To compound the situation, doctors have advised Sue against travelling back to Spain because of her condition.
Caroline Hutchings, Western Community Hospital’s neuro rehabilitation consultant, said that the hospital’s heads did not took lightly their resolution but nevertheless relented to pressing needs to allocate beds to qualified individuals.
Councillor Warwick Payne, Southampton Council’s housing chief, said there are about 15,000 patients on the council’s wait list and it would be unfair to make an exemption of Sue’s case.
Sue has two sons renting apartments in Southampton, but the couple cannot live in either accommodation because Sue’s treatment facilities require larger space. While she has been paying taxes as well as National Insurance throughout her life, Sue is saddened by the state’s refusal to lend her a hand now that she needs help.
She said: “I understand that there are people waiting for a bed but I have nowhere to go and I cannot move.”
