Would you pay to see your GP?

[USER1999]

Too many people clog up the gp waiting room when there is nothing wrong with them. Nothing. May be a sniffle, a slight cough, feeling a bit under the weather, bored, what ever. A charge would put some of them off.

I am cynical, but I know quite a few doctors. It's hard to get an appointment, and a Lot of it is due to time wasters. I see my gp about once every ten years. When I do want to see them, I really want to see them. But I can't get an urgent appointment. It's rubbish. No wonder people clog up casualty with trivial stuff, they can't get a gp appointment when they need one.

That said, most gps are time serving jobs worths on far too much money. They are a glorified referral service on 100k plus.

 

[Hobbit]

Trouble is if you are called Smith,Jones etc then you are not going to get an appointment. Now if you are called adifoosy or whatever you'll stroll to the front of the surgery queue. I stand by that comment too, My niece is a doctors receptionist

So if things are getting worse and worse, wouldn't you pay for better?

The guy I play with every week is a GP of about 9million years experience, 68yrs old, and he's seen so many changes down the years. In his view, whilst the NHS is a great model it is getting harder to sustain in its current format without a change to how its funded.

Yes there are a lot of leeches out there but that's a seperate issue.

 

[upsidedown]

You cannot buy health, only treatment.

At present the GP is payed and independent, if you have a cold or sore throat, you get told no treatment needed, job done. Now if you were a PAYING customer you'd expect more and the GP would know it, resulting in prescriptions for antibiotics and more innappropriate treatment.

Pharmacist is best for coughs and colds I believe

Too many people clog up the gp waiting room when there is nothing wrong with them. Nothing. May be a sniffle, a slight cough, feeling a bit under the weather, bored, what ever. A charge would put some of them off.

I am cynical, but I know quite a few doctors. It's hard to get an appointment, and a Lot of it is due to time wasters. I see my gp about once every ten years. When I do want to see them, I really want to see them. But I can't get an urgent appointment. It's rubbish. No wonder people clog up casualty with trivial stuff, they can't get a gp appointment when they need one.

That said, most gps are time serving jobs worths on far too much money. They are a glorified referral service on 100k plus.

Bang on and I believe this does happen in NZ, you really do need to see the GP when you go.

 

[SocketRocket]

Between €50-€60 here now to see the GP ..

It's around 1,000 Rupees in the UK now.

 

[drawboy]

,i would also charge the wrinkles who did a bunk to warmer climes taking their money with them but still having their pensions paid into a spanish bank,but as soon as they need medical treatment the hop onto a cheap flight and clog up our system

Those wrinklies probably paid their taxes and national insurance for years and years. They have paid their way and deserve their retirement in the sun, besides they will get better treatment in Spain then they ever will in British hospitals. I do however agree that we should say NO to outside the EU immigrants.

 

[Ethan]

This will probably never happen - it is politically too hot a topic, and there is at best lukewarm support in the medical profession. The problem is that the demands on out of hours services have increased enormously in recent years and it is unsustainable. The problem group are those who basically have nothing much wrong with them, but clog up OOH services with their colds and minor viruses or needing to fill a prescription they should have filled in working hours. These people make matters worse for those who genuinely do have an urgent medical need. Then on top, you get the occasional disaster story usually concerning an overseas doctor who made some hideous error.

There have been various initiatives to try to deal with the minor cases - nurse led primary care centres, NHS (Re)Direct and soon to start 111. All of these have proven, in one way or another to be disasters. Even 111 is looking like it will fail, and it hasn't even properly launched yet.

So one way to reduce unnecessary demand is to charge a fee for access. There is good evidence that charging £10 would reduce the demand from people without much wrong with them, but the concern is that it might discourage some people who really do need to be seen.

On the question of whether GPs are overpaid, I think they do a pretty good job and deserve their salary,. which has been falling in recent years. You only hear the disasters in the Daily Mail. You never see a headline "GP saves life with stunning diagnosis of rare possibly fatal condition in patient who thought they just had indigestion!!" But that sort of stuff happens more often than you think.

 

[CMAC]

Trouble is if you are called Smith,Jones etc then you are not going to get an appointment. Now if you are called adifoosy or whatever you'll stroll to the front of the surgery queue. I stand by that comment too, My niece is a doctors receptionist

does she discriminate as a surgery policy or is this her own views?

 

[Ethan]

Trouble is if you are called Smith,Jones etc then you are not going to get an appointment. Now if you are called adifoosy or whatever you'll stroll to the front of the surgery queue. I stand by that comment too, My niece is a doctors receptionist

I don't believe this. I don't care if his niece is a receptionist - she doesn't set practice policy, she answers the phones.

It is illegal, for a start, so if drawboy is dobbing his niece in as engaging in illegal activities, perhaps he should rethink it. If he has any actual evidence, he should report it.

 

[drawboy]

As you like it Sir.

 

[Ethan]

As you like it Sir.

I'll take that as an admission that your story is a load of rubbish.

 

[Sweep]

Health Service: Great idea (and I mean great) but tbh it's a one size fits all service that will never work. I look at it another way. Let's say (guess /round figure) the average contribution from taxes that go the NHS is £5k. Give peeps the option of a tax break of say £3k if they opt out. You can still see your GP for free but after that you have to go private. Those that opt out will be able to afford it and get a better service. They will also be able to afford BUPA insurance. Those that stay in will get a better service because there would be less demand on the NHS. Those that opt out will still be contributing because they will only be getting a tax break of around 60% of their contribution and the rich will be helping the poor.

 

[MegaSteve]

Still too many dying because they don't go to their doctors... Would charging to visit their GP improve this statistic...

 

[brendy]

I'll take that as an admission that your story is a load of rubbish.

Having supported doctor surgeries and pharmacies for around 10 years, I can say that NI surgeries at least (why should mainland practices be any different) have a pretty much first come first served basis in appointments. If it is really bad open surgery can still be used.

 

[woody69]

Trouble is if you are called Smith,Jones etc then you are not going to get an appointment. Now if you are called adifoosy or whatever you'll stroll to the front of the surgery queue. I stand by that comment too, My niece is a doctors receptionist

Nothing like a bit of casual racism to perk us all up eh? What an utterly ridiculous statement to make.

 

[6inchcup]

Those wrinklies probably paid their taxes and national insurance for years and years. They have paid their way and deserve their retirement in the sun, besides they will get better treatment in Spain then they ever will in British hospitals. I do however agree that we should say NO to outside the EU immigrants.

i don't agree,my opinion is the have turned their backs on this country and have chosen to spend their money in another country so after 6 months away they should have their passports suspended,you cant have your cake and eat it.