NHS in talks over ?8.50 charge to call out a doctor, hospital patients pay for meals

[Northerner]

Patients could be charged ?8.50 to call an out-of-hours doctor to their home under controversial plans outlined today.

The sick could also be forced to pay for their hospital meals or increased charges to watch television on NHS wards.

The proposals are being floated as a way of tackling the ?unprecedented financial dilemma? faced by the Health Service.

But campaigners expressed outrage at the ?frank discussion? document, saying it undermined the founding principle of the NHS that care must be free at the point of use.

They also warned that seriously ill patients could be discouraged from seeking treatment if they feared being unable to afford the fees.

The NHS Confederation, which represents all Health Service trusts, devised the ideas as ways of generating extra funds.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...octor-hospital-patients-forced-pay-meals.html

 

[cherrypie]

Another tax. Many people would not be able to afford these charges.

 

[Northerner]

Another tax. Many people would not be able to afford these charges.

Indeed. It's clear such charges are thought up by people who wouldn't have to worry about raising such a sum of money.

 

[trophywench]

Blimey, it already costs several ??? a day to watch telly at ours! (and for a landline at your bed, cos the hospital is built of nuclear shielding and you can't get a mobile signal almost anywhere inside it) and it has done for years.

Even more people will take emselves to A&E won't they?

And I know a lot of people also (if they are able) eat in the cafe and therefore pay anyway, because they reckon the meals are so awful. I have no experience of them so can't in all truthfulness comment on that.

 

[DeusXM]

I don't necessarily have a problem with paying for the food - after all, if you weren't in hospital, you would be buying your own food anyway. I can understand the argument for why you should be entitled to it for free-of-charge but there's a reasonable argument to be made for its cost as well.

However...if a hospital is going to charge for food it should also therefore permit patients to purchase food from the outside OR substantially improve its own food service. I haven't stayed in a UK hospital since 1998 but if we're still in a situation where your dinner is served at 5pm and all you get is either spaghetti hoops or halal meatballs, plus luminous jelly, something needs to be done. Mealtimes for people with diabetes are particularly shoddy - isn't it something like a 12-hour gap between dinner and breakfast?

The sensible argument would be to run a fullscale 'room-service' menu available 24-7 at a cost to the patient, and then also license concession stand to branded businesses in the hospital on the proviso that the hospital can veto menu items. Meanwhile, you could then introduce an additional layer of protection for those on lower incomes by offering a voucher system for those on benefits.

All of this would give patients more choice, better quality food, keep things affordable for patients and divert NHS to priorities such as medical treatment.

 

[FM001]

Worrying times ahead should these proposals see the light of day, are we to see the NHS transformed from a care facility for all to one where it depends on ones wealth?

As ever it will be the least well off in society who will be effected the worst, it would be a very brave health secretary and political party who tries to introduce these proposals🙄

 

[Abi]

Would agree that standards of catering need to be raised. I would not want to pay charges comparable to restauranr/ hotel but a more basic sum of money would be reasonable if meals were balanced with a good choice ( including veg and salads) and there was more flexibility with timing/ snacks.
However, many people in hospital I would assume to be struggling financially either due to not workins as a result of condition landing them in there in the first place, or current economic situation. In addition I understand that for hospital stays over a certain length of time, benefits are reduced ( and with welfare reforms stopping or reducing benefits seems to be a fairly common scenario anyhow)
As far as a pay for GP contact goes- I could see far too many deserving people being penalised but then on the other hand there are those who demand a house call rather than coming into the centre because they see it as their right ( I pays my taxes) - despite being perfectly capable of coming in- or becuase they don;t want to bring diddums out into the cold ( so presumable if diddums has meningitis it's curtains anyhow because the paediatric intensive care unit sure as hell isn;t going to come to the patient's house )

 

[Northerner]

I think I would be in favour of a penalty payment for people who miss appointments without cancelling or good reason. And maybe weekend drunk brawlers who turn up at A&E, although it might be difficult to know victim from aggressor.