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New EU regulations mean that many Britons are taking the fast boat to France to avoid long waits for surgery. Richard Wilson looks at the benefits
A few months ago we were assailed by a burst of intense media interest in a small collection of people going off to hospital. Not that interesting a story, you might think, despite the seemingly endless queues to get into NHS hospitals. But that is precisely what made it such an interesting event.
The patients in question were in fact off to France to savour the delights of decently made coffee and continental breakfasts - and get a hip replacement at the same time. It was the first example of British NHS patients exercising their new-found rights to receive treatment in EU hospitals, with the NHS footing the bill.
To some this is a sad indictment of the NHS that it is unable to treat everyone....