"St Georges Hospital - There is no 'care' in..."

Anything else?

My wife (Canadian living in Trinidad and Tobago) stayed in the St Georges Hospital from 27-29 Oct 2012 due to an Asthma Attack. Only after her stay was she informed that she would have to pay. Making the payment was no problem. However, when she requested the invoice, she was told that she would receive it via email. The invoice never came.

After she returned home from the UK, what did come was a ‘Final reminder’ letter in the post, dated a couple months after her stay (13 Dec 2012). However, due to the nature of snail mail, this was only delivered on 11 Jan 2013. I immediately emailed the contact on the letter explaining that the letter had come late along with other circumstances, and requesting that we be allowed to make the payment on 28 Jan 2013. The contact never replied. Instead I received a letter from a debt collector on 27 Jan 2013. The letter was dated 17 Jan 2013 and stated that interest was now applied to the debt.

It is clear to me now that the St Georges Hospital is a ‘business’ - One that can only profit from international ‘customers’. There is no empathy in business. Threatening legal action against patients who express full intention to pay – these things have left a bad taste in our mouths.

We do still love London, and will continue to visit every year. However, we understand now that with St Georges Hospital – Business is Business.

Folks, make sure you have your insurance. The NHS is unforgiving!