On Friday 26th July GPs announced in the newspaper that they would like patients to pay £25 for an appointment. However, why should we pay when we already pay tax towards the NHS? Is it right to charge? Who does this give an advantage to?
The NHS is a fantastic service. Our government gives everyone medical treatment regardless of age, race and, most importantly, wealth. Everyone can get medical help without having to pay the price of private medicine or insurance. Admittedly, tax is payed to fund the health service. However, often people in lower economic groups get healthcare that they would be able to afford. The NHS has its problems, I won't deny it, but I believe it is a much better system than the heavily right-wing US system. So should we pay for the GPs?
What you may not know about the GPs is that they purchase appointments from other departments in the health service. For example, if you have a lump in your breast they purchase your appointment in oncology and it comes out of their budget. Paying £25 would help the doctors you see get more people referals. With this extra money leads to growth in the NHS, leading to shorter waiting times for procedures and appointments so you would get an all round better service. However, why can't we stick with the system we have now? Why do we need a reform? And who does this system hurt in the long run?
I want you to think about who are the most ill in our society. Who is it? It's the elderly, children and people in lower economic groups because frankly, staying healthy is expensive. The elderly are retired. Children are in school. Both of these groups have no income. With the cost of everything rising and a deeper dip in our recession can the majority of the patients afford to pay for health care? Four out of five prescriptions are not payed for. These are patients who wouldn't benefit from paying for the GPs. So in the end we end up hurting the people who are most in need. So that makes paying wrong, right?
I went on work experience and I worked with a GP who was astounding at his job, he really was. However, if you live in the UK you know that GPs are not always the best service. Sometimes you have to go to multiple appointments because the doctor is initially dismissive or wants to "play it by ear". Let's think of a sinario. You go to the GPs complaining about being very tired all the time. £25. So the GP makes you have a blood test. £25. The results come back positive for anaemia. Book an appointment. £25. So now, best case sinario, you've spent £75. What if in your first appointment the doctor said there was nothing to worry about? What if they blamed it down to stress, having your kids home for the summer or just being run down from your last cold? "It's probably nothing." "Let's play it by ear." When you go back to tell them you're not getting better, you spend another £25.
What gives people the best chance of surviving cancer? Catching the disease early. People don't like going to the doctors now; it's scary because you don't know if you're really ill and acknowledging that you have a problem is terrifying. What if you make patients pay £25 for this appointment? Will people actually go if they have symptoms for something serious? Will death rates increase because patients will only go when it gets really serious? Paying would hurt the patients.
I don't believe paying will help our nation's health. It will discourage people going to the doctors. I think that because of this reluctance to go to the GPs people will leave symptoms and cost the patients and then health centre more. So if we have to start paying everyone will pay. That's not right.
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