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'More NHS patient charges' may be needed

Further NHS patient charges may need to introduced, a report has said. The current health and social care systems are no longer fit for purpose while funding needs an overhaul, the Commission on the Future of Health and Social Care in England said.

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Systems 'rub against each other like fractured bones'

The current systems rub up against each other like bones in an open fracture.

The lack of alignment between them leads to serious problems of co-ordination, with the NHS and local authorities battling over who should pay for what, and patients, service users and their families left confused and bewildered. This is not sustainable - we need a new settlement fit for the 21st century.

This necessitates making choices about how to pay for a better system - hard choices that we must look squarely in the eye.

– Kate Barker, Commission on the Future of Health and Social Care in England

'Hard choices need to be made' to increase NHS funding

The report points to "hard choices" that must be looked at "squarely in the eye", with several possible ways of increasing revenue and resources - and suggests a combination of all of them is likely.

Some ways are either a rise in taxation or new and/or higher patient charges, and an acknowledgement "that all pensioners are no longer poor pensioners", the report suggested:

  • Prescription charges and the cost of pre-payment certificates could rise while those currently exempt from charges - such as pregnant women and those on maternity leave - could have their entitlements scrapped
  • The blanket exemption from prescription charges for those aged over 60 could be removed
  • Extending charges for dentistry or fee for visiting the GP - say £5 to £25
  • Outpatients could be charged £10 for hospital appointments while those who fail to turn up could also be charged as a penalty
  • Costs for hospital stays or hospital treatment may also be considered

The report also said winter fuel allowance and free TV licences for the over-75s could also be reconsidered, with the money diverted into health and social care.

Free bus passes and concessionary travel cost around £1 billion in 2010/11.

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'More NHS patient charges' may be needed

Further NHS patient charges may need to introduced, a report has said.

The current health and social care systems are no longer fit for purpose while funding needs an overhaul, the Commission on the Future of Health and Social Care in England said.

More NHS patient charges may be needed Credit: David Cheskin/PA Wire

The report said that in addition to more charges or increasing general taxation an acknowledgement that not all pensioners are "poor" would be needed.

Increasing general taxation or introducing more charges - such as for treatment or hospital stays, or cutting freebies such as elderly bus passes and prescriptions - all need to be considered, it said.

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