Under pressure surgeries are turning to private doctors who can see patients on webcam, even though based a long distance from patients home. This will indeed reduce waiting time from days to hours but at a price to the patient who will have to pay £50 for 15 minutes consultations during working hours and £70 at any other time.
Could this be a slippery road to privatization through back-door? Could it not be better if NHS introduce nominal consultation fee of say £10 for a visit to GP surgery with minimum exemptions? This could reduce, even eliminate unnecessary consultations freeing GP’s time for real patients. After all we pay for dental treatment and prescription charges. These could even encourage some private doctors to come under NHS, especially if all or part of these consultation fees go to GPs.
This may only work if A & E also introduce charges, to stop A & E being inundated if it is free. I wonder what access these private doctors could have to patients’ records and could they prescribe medication on NHS or as suggested they email prescriptions to their GPs who may electronically transfer these prescriptions to patients’ pharmacists and who would take the blame if a wrong medication is prescribed? It would be interesting if GPs involved in these schemes inform and educate general public.
Kumudini Valambia
By email
