TY - JOUR T1 - Why charging patients in the UK for going to hospital is wrong and bad for child health JF - BMJ Paediatrics Open JO - BMJ Paediatrics Open DO - 10.1136/bmjpo-2021-001294 VL - 6 IS - 1 SP - e001294 AU - Bryony Hopkinshaw AU - Catarina Alves Soares AU - Jonathan Broad AU - Olivia Lam AU - Sarah Boutros AU - Alison Steele Y1 - 2022/01/01 UR - http://bmjpaedsopen.bmj.com/content/6/1/e001294.abstract N2 - Charging families for healthcare because of their immigration status is causing harm to the health of children in the UK, and has wide-reaching impacts on entire families, including fear of accessing healthcare, exacerbation of poverty and deepening of health and social inequalities.1 2 Growing evidence of this has prompted the UK’s Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) to publish a position statement officially opposing charging for healthcare in the UK’s National Health Service (NHS).1 In this article, we describe who is affected by NHS charging, the widespread harm that it causes to child health, and why we have chosen to speak out as a professional body on this issue.In the UK, access to primary care and to emergency departments is free of charge to all. Anyone who lacks formal immigration status, however—in other words, is ‘undocumented’—can be made to pay for NHS secondary care, such as inpatient treatment.3–6 In England, hospitals are mandated to withhold treatment until bills are paid, for all but urgent and immediate care.6 There are exemptions for certain vulnerable groups including recognised victims of trafficking and refugees with right to remain. However, in contrast to many European countries, being under 18 is not in itself an exemption to being charged in the UK. There are an estimated 200 000 children in the UK who are ‘undocumented’,7 for reasons which include being born to undocumented parents, losing legal residency, having had their asylum application rejected, or being unrecognised victims of human trafficking. Unless they meet a specific exemption, all of these children are deemed ‘chargeable’ for NHS secondary care.8The number of families subject to healthcare charging in the UK is likely to be increasing rapidly.9 Children and young people who are nationals of other European countries may … ER -