Should NHS patients be charged for GP appointments and A&E visits?

28 January 2023 , 10:00

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Sajid Javid has said patients should be charged for GP appointments (Image: Getty)

Sajid Javid has said patients should be charged for GP appointments and A&E visits to reduce demand - and we want to know what you think.

The former Health Secretary claims the NHS could not “survive much longer” without radical change, adding the health body had become unsustainable.

Under his proposed plans, Brits would be charged £20 fees for GP appointments, and £66 for emergency visits without a referral.

Writing in an op-ed for The Times, Mr Javid suggested that the UK should extend “the contributory principle” to tackle waiting times.

He said that means-tested fees should be introduced, while “protecting those on low incomes”.

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“We should look, on a cross-party basis, at extending the contributory principle,” he wrote.

“This conversation will not be easy, but it can help the NHS ration its finite supply more effectively.”

Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown wrote in the Guardian that payment for services could end up with people missing early diagnosis and undermine the entire basis of the NHS.

Downing Street said Rishi Sunak is not "currently" considering the proposals.

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Freya Hodgson