Charging for GP appointments is dumb

There’s a lot of talk about fixing the GP workload crisis by charging patients and using price to influence supply and demand. It seems to work for Dentists and reducing plastic carrier bag use but is it actually that simple or is reality a bit more complicated? Making a dramatic change like this could have huge unintended consequences and we need to be clear about what we are doing. Collecting money does not do any patient care. The overheads of setting up a collection system, issuing receipts, chasing payments and administering exemptions is all wasted. It is like forcing everyone … Read more