Day: October 31, 2015

    Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary, is considering whether to charge foreigners for using ambulances and visiting A&E in a move that could further escalate tensions with the medical profession. In a bid to raise money, Hunt is expected to announce a consultation within the next month on whether the NHS should charge patients from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) for emergency treatment. While no one would be denied urgent care, hospitals would be allowed to withhold treatment for non-urgent medical problems until a payment was made. Patients from inside the EEA would have to present their European Health Insurance card to receive treatment, and their government would be sent a bill. Under the proposals, there would be certain exemptions on charging up front, suc...

    The country could be in for the hottest start to November in history, forecasters say. The Met Office predicts the temperature to be more than 21.7C (71F) on Sunday – the record set 69 years ago in Prestatyn, Denbighshire, North Wales. Hot air from Portugal is bringing the out-of-season sizzle, which will make the UK hotter than the Mediterranean. Highs of 21C are expected on Saturday and “exceptionally mild” sunshine in the ¬afternoon, forecasters said. The balmy weather – 6C above average – is set to continue throughout the week with settled conditions in the south and east of England. The predictions would make today the second-hottest Halloween, behind last year’s high of 23.6C at Kew Gardens, London, and Gravesend, Kent. British Weather Services senior meteorologist J...