Health Department won't turn away foreign nationals

The Department of Health (DoH) has stated it will not turn anyone away from seeking treatment at State facilities, including foreign nationals.

Deputy Director-General Nicholas Crisp told Parliament’s Standing Committee on Appropriations that the department does not account separately for treating undocumented migrants.

Therefore, he could not answer the committee's question on how much is being spent to treat this specific category of patient.

These questions arise in the wake of recent incidents involving attempts to block foreign nationals from accessing State hospitals and clinics amid frustrations over long queues and strained resources.

ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE AND ENFORCEMENT

Crisp reiterated that access to healthcare is guaranteed in the Constitution, and no one can be denied.

He stated that it is up to the police to clamp down on attempts to stop foreign nationals from entering state facilities.

"Fortunately, we have a very good working relationship with the police and they react quite quickly when we need help."

NHI TO PROVIDE CLARITY ON SPENDING

Crisp noted that once the National Health Insurance (NHI) comes into effect, there will be a better understanding of how many foreign nationals are accessing the system.

Currently, around 35 million people are already registered on the DoH’s outpatient registration system.

"The system that is designed for NHI collects what is being spent on you, we will at that stage, in a couple of years from now, we will know what we are spending on whom."

Crisp added that the NHI registration system will capture fingerprints and be linked directly to Home Affairs to verify who is being treated.