To ask if you would pay for GP visits

[justanotherhappyflunkie]

Been talking with various friends who all agree they would rather pay a nominal sum to see a GP rather than the current system.

I have lived in a country that does this (free for children, disabled people, discounts for beneficiaries and long term sickness) and it was great. Same day appointments, good range of doctors, quick referrals.

The UK equivalent of this would be around £20 per visit.

AIBU to suggest it is the system that could help the NHS? prepares for a flaming!

The issue is wages have been held down for such a long time (while those on super high wages or with wealth have got immensely rich).

Do you think paying £10/20 and getting an appointment on the day is due to there being more staff/ GP practices or people not being able to pay which allows those that can afford to pay more access to the appointments the poor couldn't afford?

@KTheGrey The problem is underinvestment which has led to lots of medics leaving the NHS. There are loads of vacancies.

Yes I'd be happy with a payment for a GP appointment so long as those on benefits are exempt. This is coming whether people like it or not. They should also charge for AE in the same way.

This is the issue, isn’t it. It’s all very well in theory to say that those on low incomes won’t have to pay, but we all know full well that whenever we have such a scheme in this country, the income bar over which people pay is ALWAYS set far too low. So there’s a sector of society who have to pay what they can’t really afford without scrimping on essentials elsewhere, or go without.

Also, massively and unfairly burdensome to those who have long-term health conditions, unless they were exempt. But again, we know this wouldn’t be done realistically or fairly either, judging on past performance in the UK - look at how those with some long-term conditions get free prescriptions (eg those with thyroid conditions), whereas others with different long-term conditions don’t (eg diabetes and asthma to name but two - both life threatening if not medicated). Do we expect diabetics and asthmatics to pay hundreds or thousands of pounds each year to access a service they already pay for via tax?

Of course, none of this would be an issue if wages were liveable and benefits fit for purpose, but neither of those will happen either, so..... that’ll be a no, then.

Also, if people delay a GP appointment and hence present more unwell to secondary care that will quickly wipe out the (minimal) money put into the system. How many £20 GP appointments cover admission for IV antibiotics for pneumonia or a crisis mental health admission for deteriorating depression? What about conditions that could have been easily treated but have now deteriorated and involve more expensive, more complex treatments or cancers that are discovered much later? We should absolutely champion and demand properly funded primary care for all. A £20 sticking plaster is no solution.

It's effectively a tax, but unlike tax collected by the government, it would definitely go to shore up the NHS. I don't think there's no money from taxation, I think it's being wasted on corruption; tax for the NHS needs to be kept separate from the government or they give it to their mates.

This sounds like a very good compromise. What country is it?

It’s already happening in the UK.

My GP surgery have sent letters out saying you will now have to pay £25 for a GP appointment.

i pay €60 to see my GP. if it's urgent i can get in the same day if i call at 9am. but for non-urgent issues i could be waiting 6 weeks. I don't think paying necessarily = faster.

I'm 60. I work full time £50k a year and all my prescriptions are free. I live in the west country.
As far as I'm aware everyone over 60 gets free prescriptions no matter how much they earn.

I can't afford it. Sometimes I'm there 3 times a month

It's 60.

Without a doubt. Same for hospital appointments and ambulances.

GP appointments cost about £80. Half hour home visit 3x80 plus transport plus possibly an assistant depending on the area and safety.

Think how much a private vet costs. Then consider that GP pay is at least 3x that of a vet. Plus there is much less chance to cut corners in human medicine so overheads are higher.

I agree totally.
The most cost effective way to provide healthcare is to make first line care free and easy to access. You want to treat that chest infection before it gets bad, detect that cancer while it is easily treatable, diagnose that type 2 diabetes before it causes damage to the eyes and organs, etc.
Effectively encouraging people to delay seeking medical treatment until their condition is far worse makes zero sense on any level.

Yes. I have also lived in a country where you pay around €20 for an appointment and then get much of that pack in your next pay packet. People with disabilities/children etc were different. It worked very well. I remember even then (2009) feeling so unwell and dreading calling the docs as I expected to be fobbed off but instead I called, got straight through and had an appointment within 2 hours. I had the tests I needed the same afternoon and antibiotics by the evening! AMAZING!

Many people won’t like the idea but we have to be honest and frank that the current system is beyond broken and anything other than a complete rethink is not going to do anything other than delay the absolute collapse of the system.

Really? Can you post a picture of the letter? I don't believe you

I would be ok with that if they were a bit more attentive and helpful when you saw them. Right now, I find them such a pain in the arse to get an appointment in the first place and then pretty useless a lot of the time, so when it’s something for my son or that I think is more urgent I fork out for private, which is very expensive and we are not that well off, but at least they show more interest and do a better job as they don’t have so many people to squeeze in.

@babsanderson yes, and paying direct - preferably with a real National Insurance scheme, run by insurers - would mean the money would go to the NHS. I don't think it would sort the NHS out today. But I think I pay a couple of hundred a year on doctor's appointments and I can live with that because the service is good.

I'd not pay. I only go to the dentist when I have a fee exemption; I'd treat this the same.

Actually, my mental health issues and background cause me great difficulties with self care. I see the GP once every 5 years or so anyway. This would be the permanent perfect excuse! 'Ah, better not ... Might need that £20 for the kids this weekend...'. It would just mean even when I am really ill (last time was a 4 month chest infection I have not fully recovered from 2 months later), I'd definitely still not go.

Hmmm. I think there should be some sort of penalty for a missed appointment, although why the GP can't see the next person in line I am not sure.

When I give things away on free cycle you get a lot of time wasters/no shows. Sell it for 99p on eBay and nearly always the person turns up, why?

I get seen the same day by my GP and get antibiotics that day.
It is not paying that makes the difference.

There is a shortage of GPs in many areas of the country. The reason introducing paying might make it easier for you to see a GP is because all those poor people can't afford to see a GP. It is basic rationing through cost and not medical need.

Absolutely this.

But it seems nobody in government or the NHS is ever capable of taking an overview of all costs and looking to save money overall by investing a little more at the front end.

They’d rather, it seems, pay a fiver down the line than a pound upfront now.

Madness.

I should add that creating a two tier health system does not equate to better public healthcare.

People are waiting on trollies in corridors for days in hospitals here. Considering I don’t know one person who doesn’t have private health insurance, what would it be like if everybody went public?

The issue is there aren’t enough staff.