Plans to require pregnant women to show their passports before receiving NHS care is a “concern”, midwives has said.
St George’s University Hospitals Foundation Trust has said expectant foreign mothers who do not have access to maternity services have been targeting the hospital in London.
This has caused them to state they will endeavour to “check patients for their eligibility” when accessing non-emergency NHS treatment, a spokesperson told the BBC.
“This move by the trust is a concern,” said Cathy Warwick, chief executive of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM).
“I am sure no trust would deny care to women in labour or who are pregnant and arrive at a hospital needing urgent care related to their pregnancy.”
Warwick added: “To be clear, the law says, and government policy states, that trusts must offer care to women in labour, irrespective of their immigration status in the country.
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