Facts: Mr Reffell was a Nigerian national, whose medical treatment for renal failure had initially been paid for by his father’s employer. That funding ceased and the applicant was unable to pay for continued treatment. The Trust refused to provide further treatment unless Mr Reffell paid in advance or provided a guarantee – except for such treatment as was required to enable Mr Reffell safely to return to Nigeria.

Judgment: the Court of Appeal (Simon Brown, Waller and Tuckey LJJ) held that the Trust was required to charge Mr Reffell, by the National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 1989. It was implicit in the power to charge, that there was a power to require a deposit. It had been rational to require a deposit in this case because, unlike the case of an asylum-seeker, there was nothing to prevent Mr Reffell from seeking treatment in his country of origin.