Episode 4
A woman from Nigeria recovers in the hospital after going into premature labour with quadruplets, having fallen ill on a flight. Only three of her babies survived the dangerously premature births and they are now being cared for in Neonatal Intensive Care.
She receives a visit from the hospital's overseas officer Terry, whose job it is to prepare her for a huge bill. Because she is not a British resident, she must pay for the care that she and her babies are receiving. The cost of such specialist care quickly tops £100,000 and looks likely to rise to half a million pounds during their stay.
Terry explains that, despite her distressing predicament, it is a legal requirement for the hospital to collect the money the NHS is owed.
"We have to start raising invoices on a weekly basis. She has three babies in ICU. So that's £20,000 a week for each baby, plus her own charges as well. You have to distance yourself emotionally, otherwise you wouldn't get the job done."
The woman is just one of a number of overseas patients who are receiving life-saving care and from whom the hospital must now try to recoup money. Although emergency treatment given in A&E is free, non-UK residents who are admitted to a ward have to be billed.
Terry also needs to charge Sonia, a 56 year-old woman from the Philippines who suffered heart problems while visiting her sister, a UK resident. Cardio-Thoracic surgeon Rex Stanbridge saves her life, but she suffers complications and needs a bed in Intensive Care - costing thousands of pounds per day.
In 2015/16 the Trust's overseas patient charges were £4 million, with Terry's team managing to collect £1.6 million. Despite carrying a credit card machine to take on-the-spot payments, Terry finds it hard to get many patients to pay up.
Trailer
Recently Updated Shows
Naked and Afraid
Each week on Naked and Afraid, a new pair of complete and total strangers - one man and one woman - will find themselves stranded in and, quite literally, exposed to one of the world's most extreme weather environments. This duo will be left high and dry with no food, no water... and no clothes. They must survive on their own for a full 21 days, with nothing but one personal item each and the knowledge that the only prize is their pride and sense of accomplishment.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills offers a glimpse inside the world of luxurious wealth and pampered privilege, where being seen and who you know is everything. These women are in the center of it all and they have the mansions, the cars, and the diamonds to prove it. From heiresses to entrepreneurs to a family of child actresses - they deliver the star power and the drama.
Bar Rescue
Bar Rescue follows Jon Taffer, one of the country's top restaurant and bar consultants, will give failing establishments one last chance to succeed. The show will delve into every business facet of running a bar from creating a profitable drink/food menu to crowd management to music selection to managing disgruntled employees. This marks the first food/beverage-themed show for Spike TV, furthering its effort to expand and broaden its audience.
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Emmy Award and Grammy Award winner Jimmy Fallon brought NBC's "The Tonight Show" back to its New York origins when he launched The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon from Rockefeller Center. Fallon puts his own stamp on the storied NBC late-night franchise with his unique comedic wit, on-point pop culture awareness, welcoming style and impeccable taste in music with the award-winning house band, The Roots.