The government has its own entitlement card plans

The party is calling for the new health entitlement card because it says thousands of failed asylum seekers are trying to get treatment paid for by British taxpayers.

Shadow health secretary Liam Fox said so-called health tourism was forcing British citizens to wait longer for treatment.

But the new card would not be required for people needing emergency treatment, he emphasised.

UK target

The Tory calls come as the government continues to consider the idea of compulsory ID cards, aimed at preventing identity and benefit fraud.

Home Secretary David Blunkett says he will be taking his "entitlement card" plan to the cabinet later this year.

Under the proposal, people would have to have a card but would not need to carry it.

The Conservatives say there have been cases of asylum seekers with kidney problems specifically targeting Britain because they believe they will get free treatment.

There have also been examples of pregnant women coming from abroad to give birth in the UK, they say.

Under current rules, asylum seekers have full access to the NHS from the time they claim asylum.

'Open house'

Dr Fox said: "It is just open house on the British taxpayer, and the NHS is becoming the health equivalent of Disneyland for tourists.

"We have a healthcare system that is already working at full capacity. We are giving preference to people who have not contributed to the NHS at the expense of those who have.

"Hundreds of thousands of people who have failed the asylum process are trying to use our healthcare system.

It is easy to take one or two hard cases and say this is an example of a widespread phenomenon Keith Best Immigration Advisory Service

"This means British citizens already waiting for treatment have to wait longer.

"There have been occasions recently where there have been no renal dialysis beds in Kent because of the number of asylum seekers."

Dr Fox said people would have to produce the card within a certain number of days, as happened with a driving licence.

"People who can't produce the card when required would be open to investigation by the immigration authorities," he said.

"There would be a big disincentive to use the system illegally because people may well end up being deported.

"It is not harsh - it is just fairness. People who need emergency care should get it."

'Wrong solution'

Keith Best, from the Immigration Advisory Service, asked where the evidence was of the asylum health tourism problem.

"It is easy to take one or two hard cases and say this is an example of a widespread phenomenon. It is not necessarily the case at all," he said.

Mr Best told BBC News Online that the UK's international obligations meant asylum seekers had to be given the same access to treatment as people already here.

The solution was for asylum claims to be decided more speedily and fairly, he said. If their claims failed they would be removed.

The Immigration Advisory Service has already told MPs that the government's entitlement card scheme would have no effect on illegal immigration to the UK.