I got his opinion for nothing. I don't value it.

That was the front page story of the Express. A stupid survey from a medical magazine. No news today?

Its a very stupid idea from a group of people who should know better and who are merely financially motivated, any political party who picks up that particular baton will be signing their own death warrant for the next 50 years worth of elections (or would be if the opposition had any balls).

1. You already pay for your GP to consult with re: your health.

2. Force people to pay and you may drive away a small handful of time wasters but you'll also drive away vast numbers of genuinely ill patients, patients that those very same doctors are already being paid to look after.

3. A&E departments will become your city's doctors surgery, only difference is that they may only have the same number of doctors as your local doctors surgery, but there will be 100 times more people in the waiting room - and all the time your own doctor will be standing outside his surgery door scratching his booty and wondering how all of his patients suddenly cured themselves.


If GP's want to stop taking the NHS payments based on the number of residents in their catchment area then fine, let them go to a totally private system where you pay your doctor every time you need his/her advice (hint - it never worked well prior to 1946 and it won't again - it also didn't work out that well for dentists either), otherwise just do the bloody job we already pay you for.

As LGJM has already said, the "survey" is pisspotical and the reporting of it is stupid in the extreme.

An on-line survey on the Pulse website, attracted 440 responses. Now it we are even to assume all respondents were GPs (they weren't), that still represents considerably less than 1% of the current number of licensed GPs. So around 0.3% of the registered GPswould like to introduce some form of charging. As for quality of responses, did the reporter not think some were more than a little tongue in cheek, hence the "£150 for solicitors and accountants”. I'm only surprised that respondent didn't include estate agents too.

Another Dally non-story

Who the hell believes anything in these papers?

One doctor suggests a means-tested payment up to £150 ... and what does the Sexpress print as a headline? "Doctors want you to pay £150 for an appointment".

Lying bstrads.

NHS Direct looking for a way out of Dial 111 If it ain't broke fix it, then keep on fixing it 'til it is broke beyond repair

NHS Direct looking for a way out of Dial 111 If it ain't broke fix it, then keep on fixing it 'til it is broke beyond repair

cod'ead wrote:NHS Direct looking for a way out of Dial 111 If it ain't broke fix it, then keep on fixing it 'til it is broke beyond repair ...or, "We can't make any money out of this public service anymore, here, have it back..." What should be of concern is that NHS Direct ran the service and established the business model of filtering the emergency calls out of the tidal wave of other stuff and then found after renegotiating that there was no money to be made by sticking to the business model. So how are the other two operators who nicked some of the business off them doing ?

cod'ead wrote:NHS Direct looking for a way out of Dial 111 If it ain't broke fix it, then keep on fixing it 'til it is broke beyond repair ...or, "We can't make any money out of this public service anymore, here, have it back..." What should be of concern is that NHS Direct ran the service and established the business model of filtering the emergency calls out of the tidal wave of other stuff and then found after renegotiating that there was no money to be made by sticking to the business model. So how are the other two operators who nicked some of the business off them doing ?

JerryChicken wrote: So how are the other two operators who nicked some of the business off them doing ? We might find out at 8.00pm tonight

JerryChicken wrote: So how are the other two operators who nicked some of the business off them doing ? We might find out at 8.00pm tonight

Just listened to the story around this on The World at One on R4.
Apparently, they invited Hunt onto the programme but either he or his department turned them down, saying that the BBC should speak to NHS England.
So, it's OK for HMG to force the privatisation but when it fails it's NHS England's fault.
Bodes well for the future of the NHS in general doesn't it?

Some years back, I had cause to call NHS Direct in the evening (at about 20:00) and was impressed that they got me an appointment at the local hospital at 22:15 that same evening.
Mind you, I spoke to a clinically-trained professional straight away ... the privatised 111 service has to use non-clinically-trained call-centre staff in order to keep the costs down or they won't make a profit. (NHS direct was costing £20 per call, the privatised service can be £7-to-£9 per call).
I might be naive but I think I've spotted a flaw there.

I've only ever had cause to ring NHS Direct once, some years ago with my little kidney stone issue, although it wasn't me who was on the phone to them, I was bent over the toilet bowl throwing up with the pain = they too were very good, asked several questions and then re-assured my wife that I wasn't dying and so it wouldn't be an emergency call-out but the next available, with hindsight it was handled very well and they were correct with their telephone diagnosis although it didn't feel like it from my viewpoint at the time - there was also the knowledge that the people who ran the service then were actually medically qualified, I'm not so sure I'd be so re-assured that I wasn't going to die if it happened now, not knowing that it could be a trainee on the other end of the line (see the link in cod'eads post).