Practitioners warned over 'health tourists'

NHS Counter Fraud Services is urging opticians, doctors, and dentists to be vigilant over fraudulent claims made for free care including eye tests and dental care by so-called 'health tourists'.

The NHS watchdog said this week that it had embarked on a study to understand the full scale of the problem and cost after seeing an increase in the number of reported incidents involving people from abroad claiming free care.

'We do not have exact figures on how much this type of deception is costing the NHS only anecdotal evidence. The study will aim to gauge how prevalent the problem is and what preventative measures the relevant bodies are taking.