British patients to be fined for missing NHS appointments

The government is planning to take action to ensure people take responsibility for the precious NHS resources by charging patients for missing their appointments.

However, the health secretary, Jeremy Hunt said that although the government favours this idea and has taken steps towards it, it would be hard to implement the plan. According to Hunt, the first step is actually telling patients how much NHS money they have wasted by missing the appointments.

In an appearance on British TV, Hunt hinted at his interest in using the charging method. “We are very stretched for resources,” he said. “Doctors and nurses work incredibly hard and we are going to have a million more over-70s by the end of this parliament.”

“If we are going to square the circle and have a fantastic NHS, despite all those pressures, then we have to take personal responsibility for the way that we use NHS resources. I don’t actually have a problem in principle with the idea of charging people for missed appointments. I think in practical terms it could be difficult to do,” Hunt hinted.

“But I have taken a step towards that this week by announcing that when people do miss an appointment they will be told how much that has cost the NHS as a first step,” he added.

Other proposed ideas include labeling medication with prices and a note reminding the patients that these were paid by the taxpayer.

 “I’ve also said that all medicines costing over £20 - we’ll put the price on the outside of the medicine pack and it will say paid for by the UK taxpayer so that people understand that. What I really hope it will do is make sure that they actually take the medicines. I think it was Hippocrates who said: ‘the best doctor for your condition is yourself’. I think if people knew how much the medicines were they might be more diligent in taking the medicines on time,” the UK health secretary added.

Meanwhile, Labour leadership contender, Jeremy Corbyn disagreed with the proposed idea of charging for missed appointments but said patients should “get it in the neck” if they do not show up.

“I don’t think it would be a very good idea. It would be very hard to collect it. There are lots of reasons people miss appointments. Some because they are lazy and can’t be bothered, sometimes because they couldn’t get there, all kinds of things,” he said.

“My own GP is very good at this. They agree the appointment, they text you, they re-text you, they phone you. If you are not there, the next time you turn up you really get it in the neck from everybody there - that’s fine. It is a publicly funded service,” Jeremy Corbyn concluded.

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