GPs demand the right to charge NHS patients allowing those who pay to jump the line

GPs are demanding the right to charge their NHS patients for private appointments.

It would allow wealthier patients to pay their GPs to effectively jump ahead of the queue and potentially avoid the 8am battle to be seen.

But critics warned last night that the “dual system” could lead medics to shun those who can’t afford to pay, preventing them from accessing care.

The Guardian reported that some patients were paying up to £550 an hour to see a private GP out of frustration at the delays many face trying to get an appointment with an NHS GP.

Clinics court customers by offering short-term consultations, where a doctor is seen in person or remotely – and these can last much longer than the standard NHS equivalent of ten minutes.

It comes after dentists cut the number of NHS treatments and consultations they provided to prioritize their more lucrative private services. Elected GP representatives yesterday passed a motion calling for private charges to be introduced at the annual conference of UK Local Medical Committees (LMCs).

The statutory body represents individual GPs and practices as a whole, and its views help shape British Medical Association policy and negotiations with NHS England on GP contracts.

The motion read: ‘The conference notes that GPs, unlike dentists and pharmacists, cannot currently offer many private services to their NHS patients, and believes that GP surgeries should be able to offer paid services to their NHS patients at their discretion if these services are routine. offered by the NHS, but are not accessible within a time frame that the patient deems reasonable.’

Deputies also passed a motion saying that GPs should be able to charge their NHS patients for services not ‘routinely provided by the NHS’ and that GPs should be trusted to manage ‘potential conflicts of interest’ arising from these changes.

Some GPs expressed concern about policies exacerbating health inequalities and perpetuating a two-tiered system, according to GP magazine Pulse.

Dr. Jessica Randall-Carrick said, “This motion perpetuates the reverse care law. Those who need our services least will ask for them more, and those with the more illness, the more serious illness earlier in life, will get all the energy we have left.”

Dr. Naomi Rankin said allowing GPs to offer paid services ‘blurs the line between NHS and private care’ and ‘encourages a two-tier healthcare system’.

Critics warned last night that the ‘dual system’ could lead medics to shun those who can’t afford to pay, leaving them without access to care (stock image)

Dennis Reed, director of Silver Voices, which campaigns for the elderly, said: ‘Our members will read this news with horror. If GPs are allowed to charge their patients to jump the queue, it really will spell the end of the NHS as we know it.

‘We’ve seen what’s happened with NHS dentistry as dentists have increasingly prioritized private treatment, leaving many NHS patients unable to be seen.

“If we introduce a similar two-tier system with GPs, they would prioritize those areas where they can earn more money and the poor will not be seen.”

Dr. Clare Bannon, deputy chair of the BMA’s GP committee, said: ‘The possibility of privately offering patients services not available on the NHS is being explored.

‘However, it is worth noting that there is limited evidence to suggest that offering paid services for routine NHS care can help improve access. We will use the outcome of today’s motion to consider our work going forward.”