It wouldn’t be a bad idea if we paid for GP appointments?

[Babybear260]

I’m no economist or politician but it occurred to be that if everyone (or the majority of the populn excluding students, under 18,s , pensioners and very low income households) paid, I don’t know ~£5 every time they saw a GP, could that improve the NHS?

I know many, many people that spend twice that a week on lattes and cappuccinos (including myself) so I wonder whether if the majority of the population could stump £5 per appointment it would help?? Because most people aren’t seeing GP’s weekly so surely people wouldn’t mind contributing?

sure people have thought of this before and there must be a reason why it wouldn’t work because obviously if if did, it would be an option.

I think this is a good idea. It seems very pragmatic for a functioning society.

However, I'm speaking from a fortunate position of being able to absorb these costs without a worry. There presumably would have to be exemptions for those on low incomes, pensioners etc.

And then given the relationship between poor health (mental and physical) and poor economic wellbeing, I wonder if the exemptions granted would then negate any wide-scale benefit of the scheme?

I mean it comes out at £10 per month

They work a similar system for drugs - you pay the full cost up to a certain sum, then you get discounts 25%, 50%, 75% until its free

excellent point, although perhaps part of the problem with drs in the NHS is that they’re just not paid enough and the conditions are poor, so perhaps contributing something small would make a difference (and subsequently make them less dismissive?!) if they were getting paid very well.

I also have private health insurance and I must say none of the private GPs have ever been dismissive.

I’ve had NHS doctors literally ask me what I think they should do for me after explaining my symptoms. I don’t know, you tell me. You’re the Dr???

I think it would clog a&e up even more. Pay for gp or go to a&e for free what do you think people will choose.
I don't actually believe there are many wasted gp appointments. You can't even get an appointment without a valid reason

This^
I wouldn’t mind to pay but I would want better access certainly.

GPs are paid pretty well already.

The max you pay in any year is £115 - once you hit that amount it's free.

hmmm. I’ve sometimes wondered about this, but tbh the majority of patients that I see are either under 16, or over 65. I’d guesstimate in a “normal” GP day, maybe an absolute max 30-40% of patients are working age. And a significant number of those wouldn’t have means to pay…

plus I really worry that the disincentive to come to the doctors would exacerbate socio-economic inequality.

plus if I see 25 patients in a day (which is frankly exhausting, as they will all be complex), then that’s £125 (at £5 per patient), which isn’t really going to go far.

Because if someone has a fixed income from their pension and can't work a bit of overtime to earn a bit more, they are likely to decide to skip getting their pills to save on a tenner that they'd rather spend elsewhere, and end up costing the NHS way more than the £10 prescription charge. We all start falling to pieces a bit after 60 and we are cheapest and easiest to keep healthy if we don't hesitate to seek (appropriate) help when we need it and take the pills we are prescribed without having to penny-pinch.

In Sweden for example you pay more for A&E than GP

If you're going to charge then you need to charge everyone.

It can be proportionate to income and can be taken directly from next month's benefits so that people can access care.

It would be ridiculous not to charge the groups that are the most frequent users of GP services for their time (especially when they are also the wealthiest cohort in society)

It is perfectly normal in many countries and promotes responsible use of services. We have very irresponsible use of resources in the NHS.

There are plenty of free services available that people should be using before they visit the GP.

I'm up for the European model of low charges or co-pays across the health service.

But then where just talking about privatising the nhs as a whole which is a terrible idea

Hmm, let's see... you can afford lots of coffee = people should have to pay to see a doctor?

Um, no. Weird line of reasoning.

Sound great to the young, healthy and middle class, but in practice that just means the cost falls disproportionately on the old, those with small children, the chronically ill, disabled, the poor (who are more likely to suffer from health conditions related to poor housing, diet and poverty), and those who are basically unlucky, or who just happen to have any condition that requires long-term monitoring and treatment, from allergies or asthma to cystic fibrosis. That’s not so progressive.

I could just imagine the treads on here. My kids breathing weird. Everyone you need to take him to a&e. The poster: can't afford it

Not just me. It was just an observation that are so many people rushing around and sitting in coffee shops - of various ages. My point is that a lot of people are happy to spend money on something that seems more ‘disposable’ like a Gail’s or a Costa. So theoretically if there were a small charge to see a GP, they should be happy to pay although im sure lots of people would dismiss their health and still rather pay £5 for an overpriced latte.

For me personally, I have quite a lot of medical issues (I don’t bother the doctor nearly as much as I should do). If I had to pay as well, it would feel doubly rubbish to endure. It’s bad enough having to suffer having all these things every day as it is.

Oh no,we can't charge people to see a GP.It is already such a financial struggle for so many people in the UK . £5 -£10 is food for the low waged or a pensioner. The well off already have private health care,so let the less well off get free NHS GP appointments please.

@FenceBooksCycle You make assumptions that people are not on very restrictive work contracts and that overtime is available.

That's simply not true for many in today's workplace.

Pensioners should be paying for their prescriptions, using the yearly prescription if needed.

Was about to say exactly the same! A few years ago my family dental bills including orthodontics were second only to my mortgage, a couple of things arose the same year. If we were poorer I'd have had multiple extractions and DD would have a poor bite. We found a way to pay. On top of our private insurance of about 3k per person there is the intial consultant fees of about 200 if we ever did see anyone. I also paid almost 20k over a few years for fertility treatment. It absolutely blows my mind that people just get all this for free. A minimum set fee for earners over a threshold would be the ideal solution i think.

The other good thing that they have in Sweden - if you can manage your own transport - is the "Healthcare Guarantee" (Vårdgaranti). If you need a specialist appointment and your own health authority cannot give you an appointment with a specialist within 90 days you have the right to book anywhere in Sweden or go to an approved private provider.

Except the people who tend to use primary healthcare most are the old, young, the poor and ill, who you’re presumably not seeing in those coffee shops…?

I would have reached the £115 limit in a month earlier this year - while I was off work (seeking treatment so I could get back there!) and recieving SSP - £115 is a lot of money when it's what you get in a week on SSP - I simply couldn't have afforded to go as much as I needed to, to different departments for diagnosis and treatment, which would have delayed returning to work, not to mention not being able to afford the prescription after the appointment! A prepayment scheme where you pay the £115 or an amount over the year at a few quid a month and can access when needed would work. better for people in my situation.
I do wholeheartedly agree with charging for missed appointments though - I was at two hospital appointments last month, different departments but there were more than one name called that didn't get a response, sometimes there's circumstances beyond your control - car breaks down, heavy traffic due to an accident etc but if my experience is reflective of the NHS as a whole then that many missed appointments can't all be genuinely last minute situations.

Why do people keep stating that pensioners are likely to be poor. It's simply not true anymore - not for a long time.

pensioners belong to the wealthiest cohorts in our society.

We have far more working poor and poverty in working aged people than in pensioner groups.

It seriously is time for them to start paying for the services they are using - and no, they have no already paid - not even close.

Many pensioners have worked for years and paid tax and NI already . When you reach 60,you start to get health issues and need the GP often.