NHS Chief Suggests Charges For More Healthcare Services
The chief of the NHS in England has suggested that patients may have to pay for more health services in the future to cope with the demand for NHS healthcare; at the moment, patients only pay for prescriptions, eye care and dental care, but the chief officer anticipates more charges in the future.
Professor Malcolm Grant, chief of the new body responsible for running the NHS, NHS England, said that the demand for NHS services is set to increase above state spending and this means that more charges may be required; Professor Grant said that demand for services is expected to increase by between 4 and 5 per cent each year over the next few years and this will pile pressure on NHS services, as the budget will not increase by this much.
He said that he was not in a position to bring in charges, but suggested that it is something that future governments may wish to consider, especially if the economy continues to stall.
Although Professor Grant did not make suggestions for chargeable services, other health managers have proposed introducing charges for home visits by GPs and hospital meals.
The health budget is one of few areas to be untouched during the latest round of cuts, but with demand rising so rapidly, current spending rates are not high enough and there is bound to be a deficit. The main charges at the moment are dental fees, prescription charges and some eye care services.
The NHS currently uses more than £100 billion per year, from a total government spend of £720 billion. The coalition government stated that it would protect the NHS from cuts, but they are looking to make the system more efficient and make savings, which will be reinvested in frontline NHS services.
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