£20 charge to see GP

[oOKayOo]

Well, we still pay around the same % of tax etc. I think its broken down differently.

TBH I prefer paying and getting to see 'my' Dr, pretty much straight away, rather than the joke that my surgery was in the UK .. 4 different Dr's, up to 3 weeks just for a appt (and not even my own Dr .. just the next available one) 4 different opinions and nearly 12 months of being messed about.

Sorry, I know its a contraversial view, just MHO

I do think there should be exceptions (babies, children, the elderly etc) but in all I think its not a bad idea. Although perhaps £20 is a little high, it should be a nominal fee, not a bank breaking one.

Are you from australia? Im not too sure , but sounds exactly what i had to pay while i was out there. The difference is with Uk is ALOT of our money goes out to the NHS , hence why its free. Infact most of the income anyone gets goes on taxes and we expect to have our health , roads etc payed for from that.

Obviously thats not the case, always take take take.

 

[oOKayOo]

Oh and we pay nearly £2000 worth of council tax a year! That not including all the other taxes!
Ugh! Exactly what for!?

 

[PeanutBean]

Oh and we pay nearly £2000 worth of council tax a year! That not including all the other taxes!
Ugh! Exactly what for!?

Refuse collection; doorstep recycling; street lighting; local roads; police; local recreation; street cleaning; general council services....

 

[Tasha]

What a stupid idea. I personally was very ill earlier this year, my hb was 3 (lowest it got to was 2.4), I went to the doctors and then was called by the hospital in the middle of the night as this is dangerously low (as oxygen was not getting round my body), I made my own way to A&E and was put straight in resus, was admitted and had 6 pints of blood. Now if there was this charge I would not of gone or been able to afford to go, which means not too long after this an ambulance would of had to be called to me, not only would I of been in a much worse situation but this would of cost the NHS more as a 999 call out is very expensive.

 

[Blah11]

Oh and I'd also like to add that Gordon Brown's strategy to deal with the global recession has been the model for other governments across the world. A recent Nobel prize winner for economics commended GB on his strategy.

I would suggest heeding this article as a taste of what will happen if the Tories get in at the next election...

People would need to be crazy.. hopefully most of the torie supporters are dying out now anyway! My Grandma votes conservative every election yet she's A LOT better off money wise with labour

 

[Blah11]

Oh and we pay nearly £2000 worth of council tax a year! That not including all the other taxes!
Ugh! Exactly what for!?

Refuse collection; doorstep recycling; street lighting; local roads; police; local recreation; street cleaning; general council services....

Are schools funded with council tax?

 

[PeanutBean]

Not sure how the schools are funded. The LEAs get government money but not sure if it's supplemented through council tax too.

Sadly I think the Tories will get in mostly on the basis of the media's never ending spouting of propaganda in favour of the Tories, the BBC included, and many people's inability to question what they read/see on TV when it comes to specialist knowledge. So much for impartiality. And the constant ignoring of anything good that is done.

 

[Blah11]

I think I'm one of the few who think labour have done an okay job. I feel sorry for Brown Its not his fault we're in a GLOBAL reccession yet everyone blames EVERYTHING on him.

 

[Michy]

Oh and I'd also like to add that Gordon Brown's strategy to deal with the global recession has been the model for other governments across the world. A recent Nobel prize winner for economics commended GB on his strategy.

I would suggest heeding this article as a taste of what will happen if the Tories get in at the next election...

People would need to be crazy.. hopefully most of the torie supporters are dying out now anyway! My Grandma votes conservative every election yet she's A LOT better off money wise with labour

Not dead here yet

 

[Blah11]

Oh and I'd also like to add that Gordon Brown's strategy to deal with the global recession has been the model for other governments across the world. A recent Nobel prize winner for economics commended GB on his strategy.

I would suggest heeding this article as a taste of what will happen if the Tories get in at the next election...

People would need to be crazy.. hopefully most of the torie supporters are dying out now anyway! My Grandma votes conservative every election yet she's A LOT better off money wise with labour

Not dead here yet

 

[PeanutBean]

I think I'm one of the few who think labour have done an okay job. I feel sorry for Brown Its not his fault we're in a GLOBAL reccession yet everyone blames EVERYTHING on him.

I know and he's doing a better job to fix it than anyone. We've been living through a golden age with labour for years now. Markets will always go up and down and a lot of the current problem comes from bad practice over decades largely dating back to Thatcher (in the UK, as do most bad things) but the media eternally scapegoat people.

Sadly it's all about getting everything for free (health service, education etc) but not paying anything to get it. You can't have it both ways. What a selfish society where we don't want to share our wealth to help others as well as ourselves. So many things drive to make the rich richer and f*** everyone else who is worse off.

 

[booflebump]

This is a tough one. My aunt stays in Ireland and they have to pay for their appointments (about 60 euros a time) plus any tests they need done. Not to mention last time she had a blood test she had to deliver the sample herself! In her last pregnancy, her antenatal care and c-section cost nearly 3000 euros, and she said the care was nowhere near as good as what she recieved when she had her first child in Scotland. So for all the mistakes they make, we generally receive a good service for practically next to nothing.....and if it came down to it, I would part with my 20 quid to see a doctor if it meant preventing a deteroriation in services xxx

 

[FEDup1981]

Ridiculous idea!

 

[Donna35]

Im Irish and when I lived there I had to pay 50euro a time JUST to see the doctor that's without any prescriptions etc which cost a lot more than they do here. also had to pay for the pill and the Depo injection when I was getting them there - Depo was I think about 95euro.

when I first moved here and got my Depo done i asked the nurse who should I pay - she was shocked at the charges. I was more shocked that it was free!! Much better over here in the UK in my opinion.

Wouldn't mind too much paying for it if it came in cos what else are we supposed to do - but it should be means tested so families on small incomes don't get crippled by charges

 

[Naya69]

i wont be paying stupid idea just means people wont pay to go and more people will get ill from cross infection

we already pay taxes for them to recycle our rubbish and they get plenty of money off the people they are selling our rubbish too and if your bin lid isnt fully closed you have to waste two weeks with a smelly full bin dont get me started with the council

 

[Panda_Ally]

Thats very dangerous cos people wont go to the docs cos its too expensive... then they might ignore serious symtoms and the treatment on the nhs will cos even more...

a bit counter productive imo.

 

[Mynxie]

It wouldn't be patient focused care, which is what the NHS is supposed to be all about!

 

[MoonMuffin]

Who would go when they needed to then?

I pay a $20 co-pay for a doctor visit, $50 for an ER visit. That's on top of taxes (though not as high as in the UK), and on top of the money we pay for our health insurance (which is close to $200 a month). But If I didn't have health insurance and ended up in the hospital it would cost thousands of dollars. I mean Kathryn's birth alone was around $43,000! Luckily I was insured so only payed a few thousand in co payments and such (well my epi was not covered by insurance so had to pay $1000 for that alone, but I needed a c-section so I had to have it)

 

[AppleBlossom]

I don't need any other excuses not to go to see the doctor! How ridiculous

 

[Naya69]

i do think tho if people are using the nhs service for self inflicted treatment then i think they should be fined like if they consume too much alcohol and waste the doctors time pumping their stomaces out or if someone has over dosed and needs to bring them round these things waste the time of doctors and nurses who could be doing something far more important all because people like to waste their lives by taking drugs and too much alcohol !!!