Patient being charged £54 000 for radiotherapy wins legal aid to challenge rules

A homeless patient with cancer who has lived in the UK for 44 years has been granted legal aid to explore a possible High Court challenge to a decision that he must pay the NHS £54 000 (€61 000; $75 000) upfront for radiotherapy unless he can prove that he has a legal right to live in the country.

Albert Thompson, 63, came to the UK from Jamaica in 1973 as a teenager to join his mother and has lived in London ever since. But his original Jamaican passport was lost years ago and he cannot prove that he has the right to UK residence.

Thompson, who is using a pseudonym in the media to preserve his privacy, had prostate surgery on the NHS in 2017. But access to free NHS treatment for immigrants has …