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Patient mobility: advice to local healthcare commissioners on handling requests for hospital care in other European countries following the ECJ’s judgment in the Watts case

The purpose of this guidance is to help local healthcare commissioners throughout the UK to handle requests from the public to go to certain other European countries for treatment which in the UK is provided in hospitals.

It reminds commissioners of the arrangements that already exist for handling such requests and explains the implications of recent rulings by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in the Watts and other related cases. It advises commissioners that they must have systems in place for handling requests to go abroad for treatment.

• Download advice to commissioners on patient mobility in Europe (PDF, 248K)
• E112 application process (for commissioners)