To: Jeremy Hunt
GP's forced to charge for appointments
The NHS is free at point of access by definition. We wish to keep it that way rather than have wealthy patients jump queues by paying for the privilege. There are more than enough private health care schemes to accommodate the impatient rich at the cost of the majority. That cost is to the taxpayer , the health of the general population and, not least to the extra work that unnecessary home visits impose upon our GP's.
Why is this important?
A new scheme has been launched which enables people to skip queues in GP surgeries and have an on-demand doctor visit them in their own home. Within 90 minutes. The only catch — it costs £120.
The new ‘private primary care’ service, developed by GP Delivered Quick (GPDQ), involves people ‘booking’ a doctor via a smartphone app. They select a date and time for them to visit. Each consultation lasts around 25 minutes and the doctors are on call seven days a week between 8am and 11pm.
But if you’re desperate to see a doctor, it’ll cost you. To book a 25-minute weekday consultation costs £120. For weekend visits, it’s £150. And for a bank holiday, £200!
This immediately discriminates against those to whom 'smart phone apps' are not easily available i.e. pensioners , low earners, many disabled groups, homeless people, I'm sure you could add to the list.
Equally it discriminates against the great majority of British people that would find £120 hard to find if they were too sick to work .
Imagine a few quid elevating minor complaints above acute emergencies in an already stretched system - a tickly cough leaps to the head of the list above angina, feeling 'under the weather' trumps suicidal thoughts, severe headaches or abdominal pains.
If you want what Theresa May promised - government that benefits all of us - please sign this petition for a health service that benefits us all without regard for wealth when ill. NHS doctors are for all of us and do a fantastic job under increasingly stressed conditions . BUPA & co are there for the wealthy. Please sign and let us keep that distinction- our lives may depend upon it.
The new ‘private primary care’ service, developed by GP Delivered Quick (GPDQ), involves people ‘booking’ a doctor via a smartphone app. They select a date and time for them to visit. Each consultation lasts around 25 minutes and the doctors are on call seven days a week between 8am and 11pm.
But if you’re desperate to see a doctor, it’ll cost you. To book a 25-minute weekday consultation costs £120. For weekend visits, it’s £150. And for a bank holiday, £200!
This immediately discriminates against those to whom 'smart phone apps' are not easily available i.e. pensioners , low earners, many disabled groups, homeless people, I'm sure you could add to the list.
Equally it discriminates against the great majority of British people that would find £120 hard to find if they were too sick to work .
Imagine a few quid elevating minor complaints above acute emergencies in an already stretched system - a tickly cough leaps to the head of the list above angina, feeling 'under the weather' trumps suicidal thoughts, severe headaches or abdominal pains.
If you want what Theresa May promised - government that benefits all of us - please sign this petition for a health service that benefits us all without regard for wealth when ill. NHS doctors are for all of us and do a fantastic job under increasingly stressed conditions . BUPA & co are there for the wealthy. Please sign and let us keep that distinction- our lives may depend upon it.
