Medical bills worth £16k waived for Ukrainian grandma living in Weymouth

As reported, Alla Yuzhakova, 72, is now living in Weymouth with her daughter Irina Wilson and her family after fleeing her home in Mykolayiv following the Russian invasion.

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As well as being told she can stay in the UK following a period of uncertainty, cancer patient Ms Yuzhakova has been informed she no longer has to pay a £16,000 medical bill for an emergency operation carried out last year at London's Royal Marsden Hospital.

Alla Yuzhakova, 72, Zarena, 15, Luke Wilson, and Audrey, four. Picture: Irina Wilson

Ms Yuzhakova, who frequently visited her daughter in Weymouth prior to the Russian invasion, was treated in Ukraine last August after a tumour was discovered, but the growth reappeared in October.

Mrs Wilson said: "It was stage three sarcoma cancer, and deadly if not removed immediately.

"They sent her to the Royal Marsden. On December 22 last year, mum had surgery to remove the sarcoma.

"We found out that because she wasn't a resident of the UK she wasn't entitled to free NHS treatment. The doctor who performed the surgery said it was an emergency life-saving procedure and it shouldn't be charged.

"In February, we received a bill of £16,100."

However the hospital trust has now confirmed it will 'no longer be pursuing the payment'.

In a letter to Mrs Wilson, the hospital trust said: "With her visa situation changing so rapidly, the advice the Home Office has given your local NHS hospital and the reassurance they have given you with regards her status, compounded with the awful events in Ukraine since your mother's operation, I have received special permission to not pursue payment for the treatment she has received."

Mrs Wilson said: "I hope this is one of the first good miracles. It's miraculous news.

"It's a huge weight off."

As reported, Ms Yuzhakova had to flee Ukraine following the invasion. She made it to Bucharest where her daughter met her and took her back to England.

Ms Yuzhakova made an Adult Dependent Relative application which entitles somebody to stay indefinitely in the UK.

The application was rejected with the Home Office stating she 'did not meet the requirements'.

However the Home Office said last week she will not have to leave the UK and that her application to stay has been sent to another, 'more suitable' route in their system, which is still currently under review.