GP's demand the right to charge patients fees.

 

With the advent of the COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020, many GP's became reluctant to do face-to-face appointments with patients and some ended walk-in surgeries and introduced 'triage'. Although the government eased restrictions in May 2021, and urged GP's to start seeing patients, in many cases this did not happen.

Although hospital doctors and nurses, dentists, and opticians, were seeing patients face-to-face, many GP's offered their patients, virtual consultations by telephone or Skype or WhatsApp.

As many NHS patients are finding it increasingly difficult to see a GP, the GP's are now demanding the right to charge patients fees for consultations so they can jump the queue. Many NHS hospital trusts are already telling NHS patients that they can jump the queue if they're prepared to pay for treatment.

It seems extraordinary, that NHS waiting lists, delays, and other bureaucratic hiccups, can be easily circumvented when your prepared stump up some cash and pay for your medical treatment. Even the GPs reluctance to face patients can be overcome, if you're prepared to grease their palms.

I tend to agree with those who argue that the so-called crisis in the NHS, has been largely engineered by a Tory government that would like to privatize healthcare in Britain and wants to see a greater role for the private sector. The Labour Party also favours more private sector involvement in providing healthcare. Both the Tory Party and the doctor's union the British Medical Association (BMA), initially opposed the formation of the NHS in July 1948.

As more people start to pay for medical treatment, there's is a danger that it will create a two-tier health service where those who can pay get urgent treatment, and those who can't, have to wait. There's also the danger that we will lose the NHS by default.