A Nigerian woman racked up a healthcare bill of $420,000 giving birth to twins in a British hospital, with taxpayers footing the bill.
The unnamed mother – who is not eligible for free treatment in the UK – was admitted to a hospital in southern England in 2015.
After complications in her pregnancy, her newborn children had to spend two months in intensive care, according to a front-page report in The Daily Mail.
The total cost of her treatment was £350,000 ($420,000) – but she has yet to pay any of it, and the British taxpayer has been left to foot the bill.
Bosses at the hospital in Luton, England, (pictured above) claim they are “pursuing” the debt, but has a very poor record of reclaiming cash.
DAILY MAIL FRONT PAGE: 'Health tourist's £350,000 bill – and you paid!" #skypapers pic.twitter.com/U1fT6xdJfW
— Sky News (@SkyNews) January 15, 2017
The high-profile case has reignited debate over so-called “health tourism”, where patients visit countries with the sole intention of getting better treatment.
Britain’s National Health Service, where all hospital treatment is funded from the public purse, is known as a particularly soft touch.
The case emerges at a fraught time for the NHS. Dozens of overstretched hospitals are cancelling major operations, and 23 have issued a rare “black alert” due to rising demand and a lack of resources.
Meanwhile, according to the Mail, Nigerian web forums are full of people swapping tips about the best way to access British healthcare.
According to Government figures, the NHS spends £500million ($600million) treating ineligible patients – but only ever reclaims around half of it.
