Will GPs charge for out-of-hours appointments?
New proposals could see GPs offering out-of-hours appointments for a small charge.
GPs are considering plans that could see patients charged for appointments outside of their contracted hours.
According to medical magazine Pulse, family doctors want to put the charges in place to increase GP funding.
If the new plans come to fruition, GPs would be able to work with their own patients through a third-party company that would take payments from patients and pay GPs for their time.
They're currently banned from charging for such services.
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‘The Government is a monopoly customer’
Dr Prit Buttar, chairman of the Local Medical Committee (LMC) for Oxfordshire, has been discussing the proposals with other LMCs across England and hopes to have plans in place by the end of 2017.
He told Pulse: “We have to look at alternative ways of increasing funding and look at models which will allow practices to operate within the rules.
"They will offer practice services, for example if someone wants a minor operation but can only do this in an evening, then they can do this by charging a small fee.
“It will allow GPs to value their own time more and puts pressure on the Government.
"The Government is a monopoly customer, they can dictate how much they are willing to pay.”
Other GP leaders agree that the current situation is unsustainable but will wait to see if the Government delivers on its proposals to improve contracts before they take any action.
Dr Uzma Ahmad, medical secretary at Wallsall LMC, told Pulse:
“We are going to wait for three months – if nothing positive comes up I think other regions might follow this plan.
"We need to safeguard ourselves, there has to be some other way to continue to practice.
"I don’t intend to leave the country, so I will need to find another way to practice here.”
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Once GPs are allowed to charge for one or two services they will soon be charging for earlier appointments and quicker referrals and more and more services. The next step will be to become private practitioners altogether just as so many dentists did, although probably with the NHS paying for drugs and hospital services, at least in the short term. The final step will be to move to a wholly insurance based service as in the USA, and it will of course be much more expensive for individuals but cheaper for the government. Is this really what anyone other than the government wants ?
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Anything that is provided free will be abused and the service wasted. Look at water bills. Those on meters use their water wisely - or else pay the penalty. Those on rateable value based charges might pay more in their overall bill but effectively there is no limit on the water they use and no incentive to save on water. Its the same with prescription charges, Those on benefits and pensioners don't pay these (in England!) and so will demand every piece of medication they can get. And throw much of it it in the cupboard unused - and I include my own and my wife's parents in that!. Living as I do in London I'm eligible for the freedom pass which makes almost all public transport free. Therefore I can use the service with no regard for the cost that others face. People use A&E as an alternative to GP services for trifling matters and clog up the system. Those attending A&E for something that should be dealt with by a GP in normal working hours should be turned away or pay a private service based at the hospital instead. GPs could cut their own workload by extending the interval between routine follow up appointments. Its the people who only visit their doctor when they really need to that should get priority.
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What's missing in the NHS is management, proper management. You don't need people with high flying degrees you need people with savvy and common sense. Take the most successful businesses. most of the founder were basically ordinary people with an .abundance of common sense and drive.
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31 January 2017