Labour peer Lord Robert Winston claims patients should be charged for treatment

[Northerner]

Patients should be charged £200 to see their GP so they 'learn to appreciate the NHS', fertility expert Robert Winston has said.

It comes after calls for patients to pay a £10-a-month fee to use health services, and also be charged £20 for every night they stay in hospital.

But Labour peer Lord Winston said the actual value of a hospital was much greater- and the charge would have to be much higher to make it more 'realistic' for those who do not appreciate the cost.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...tment-stop-taking-health-service-granted.html

Erm Robert, we already pay for the NHS - my annual NI payments run pretty close to the income tax I pay 🙄 So, those most likely to need treatment will not be able to afford it. It might seem like a small sum to him, but to a huge number of people that's a lot

 

[cherrypie]

I wonder if he has been misquoted as he is normally is a very sensible chap.

Whatever is decided with regard to payment from sources, be it charging for appointments and hospital stays, it has been calculated that the Admin costs will outstrip the money collected.

I am sure the British Public would be happy to pay and extra 50 pence/£1 per month if this stops the NHS being privatised. It is slowly being taken over by private companies under our very noses and when it is gone there will be no return.

 

[Northerner]

I think that what always annoys me is that money can always be found to fight wars (ineffectively, if the past 20 years is anything to go by), yet for some reason finding enough to look after our sick and elderly seems to be allocated a strictly defined budget (despite an increasing demand for it due to population growth and ageing)

 

[cherrypie]

Shhhh Alan,

We will soon be told how many children we can have and at what age euthanasia will be introduced.