Senior Coventry doctor shocked by GP fee idea...

[dutchman]

A senior Coventry doctor says he is shocked by a new survey which found half of GPs agree with the idea of charging for appointments.



Dr Jamie Macpherson, secretary of the Local Medical Committee, says he would rather resign than ask patients for money.

A national poll found 51 per cent of GPs were in favour of making patients pay for routine appointments to reduce the workload.

Dr Macpherson said he does not know of many colleagues who would be in favour of the move.

In the poll of 440 GPs by the health magazine Pulse, 51 per cent said they would support imposing a small fee to visit a GP, compared with 36 per cent who would not.

And many believe putting a price tag on face-to-face consultations is the only way to manage the increasing workload and rising patient demand.

The majority of GPs who called for charging specified an amount between £5 and £25 per appointment, Pulse said.

One GP suggested means-testing how much patients pay for visits, charging the “poor” £10, professionals and politicians £100 and solicitors and accountants £150.

Dr Macpherson said: “I would rather resign than charge people and most of the GPs I know would balk at the idea of taking money from people.

“I just want to provide care, I don’t want to charge people. The number of patients we see isn’t the issue, the issue is the box-ticking and bureaucracy.

“That’s what’s driving people away from the profession.”

Last year a similar poll by Pulse found only a third of GPs would support the move, suggesting a growing number are willing to consider drastic solutions to reduce their workload.

According to a report published last year by the Deloitte Centre for Health Solutions, demand for routine appointments is likely to double in the next two decades.

Dr Helen Stokes-Lampard, Honorary Treasurer of the Royal College of General Practitioners, said: “The fact that half of GPs surveyed support making charges for appointments in this poll demonstrates the fact that general practice is wilting under rapidly expanding workloads and increasing hours in surgery.

“GPs’ major concern is their patients – the only way we can ensure excellent patient care for everyone is if the health service continues to be free to all at the point of delivery. Otherwise we end up with an American-style system where your access to healthcare is based on your ability to pay.”

[rebbonk]

Perhaps if we didn't treat those that hadn't contributed the GPs workload wouldn't be so high?

[dutchman]

GPs deliberatley took on far more patients than they could deal with in order to earn huge fees from the NHS. The practice where I'm registered has so many patients that the senior partner has to hire junior GPs to handle the overload.