A hospital in London has apologised after asking pregnant women to declare whether they are an "economic migrant" from the European Union on patient admissions forms to its maternity department.



A spokesperson for Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the London Bridge-based hospital, confirmed that the form had been in use for "the last couple of years" before being withdrawn last month and replaced with a digital form that does not use the term.

EU citizens living in the UK are entitled to NHS care free of charge. Sarah Ludford, the Liberal Democrat House of Lords spokesperson for Brexit, described the form as "extraordinary", and told BuzzFeed News she found it concerning in light of ongoing Brexit negotiations.

"While I'm glad Guy's has apologised, I'm afraid this shows how prejudice towards EU freedom of movement from the Tory government and Brexiteers has fostered at worst shameful hostility and at best ignorance and confusion towards EU citizens," she said.

A spokesperson for the hospital said the term "economic migrant (EU)" had been used by mistake, where "EU national" or "EU Citizen" should have been given as options in the "country or residency (citizenship)" section of the form.

"The term ‘economic migrant’ should never have been used. The form was recently withdrawn and replaced by a digital form which does not use this term," the spokesperson told BuzzFeed News.

“We apologise for any offence this has caused. The maternity team are actively working to ensure that no one is continuing to use this form."