This issue came before the Court of Appeal in a judicial review case, Regina (A) v. Secretary of State for Health in an appeal by the Secretary of State against an adverse ruling in the High Court. A full report is on the Court of Appeal’s website and a summary was published in The Times Law Report on 2 April 2009.
The case was brought by a failed Palestinian asylum seeker who had been undergoing treatment for a serious condition and who, it was accepted, could not be returned to his country of origin. The Court considered at some length the relevant provisions of legislation governing the National Health Service and of immigration legislation. Section 1 of the National Health Service Act 2006 imposes a duty on the Secretary of State for Health to provide health services free of charge to the people of England. (Separate legislation covers Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland….
See full Briefing Paper 5.7