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 Joyce and Ronald McDonald face a £26,000 bill .A pensioner, whose seriously ill wife was denied free NHS treatment, fears they could face a bill for thousands of pounds.

Former St Ives residents, Ronald and Joyce McDonald, moved to Turkey when they retired five years ago.

Mr McDonald, 71, is outraged that his wife, 66, was denied free NHS care at Addenbrooke s Hospital – despite a life time of National Insurance contributions.

When Mrs McDonald fell ill and failed to respond to treatment in a Turkish hospital, Mr McDonald cleared out their savings accounts to meet the £26,000 cost of flying her back to the UK by air ambulance.

She was admitted to Addenbrooke s, where doctors found she was suffering from sclerosis of the liver and a heart problem. But the couple was told they had to pay. Under NHS rules, anyone who spends more than three months living outside the UK is not automatically entitled to free hospital treatment.

Mr McDonald said: “I don t want any hand-outs. I want what I think we are entitled to after all those years of paying in and never using it. I m determined I m not going to pay. I m incensed.”

Mr and Mrs McDonald, a former steward and stewardess at the Brampton Institute working men s club, are still British citizens. They paid for healthcare they received in Turkey.

Mr McDonald has received an invoice for £380 for a consultation and initial treatment, and says a letter from Addenbrooke s threatens legal action if he fails to pay.

He fears the bill for his wife s two-week hospital stay and further tests could run to thousands – with little cash left in the bank.

While Mr McDonald praises the care at Addenbrooke s, he says the national rules show “those in power have nothing but contempt for their own citizens”.

John Leslie, director of finance at NHS Cambridgeshire, which funds hospital care for county residents, said: “Anyone who is normally a resident of the UK is entitled to free NHS hospital treatment. However, anyone who has been living outside of the UK for more than three months would not be automatically eligible for free treatment.”

Mr Leslie added that the trust would “welcome the opportunity of discussing this case further with the patient concerned”.

Source: Cambridge News