18.06.14
Nurses to debate patient charges
At the Royal College of Nursing’s (RCN’s) annual conference in Liverpool nurses have put forward a motion to debate whether patients should be charged a fee for appointments with their family doctor.
The Royal College, which has traditionally backed the belief that the NHS should be free at the point of delivery, has tabled the discussion as NHS finances are “not infinite”.
Recently doctors debated the same issue at the British Medical Association's (BMA) local medical committees conference in May, where it was suggested that making certain patients pay a fee for some services would “emphasise the value” of GPs.
It will be interesting to see what recommendations come from the RCN debate. The organisation has already called on all political parties to clearly set out their plans for future NHS funding.
Chief executive and general secretary Dr Peter Carter said: “Nurses care passionately about the NHS and are not afraid to have difficult debates about its future.
“This week we’ve made it clear that the way to deal with the financial problems the NHS faces is not to attack the pay of dedicated staff who are propping the service up. GP charging is a controversial topic and one that goes to the heart of the debate about what the NHS is and should be. It’s a brave debate to have and an important one.”
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