The former health secretary and Rushcliffe MP Ken Clarke says the Government should not rule out asking wealthier NHS patients to pay more for their treatment. As millions wait for operations as senior leaders across the health service describe the NHS as being in a state of crisis, several initiatives are being taken to try and ease pressures.
Senior staff in Nottingham have previously spoken about new measures being taken in the city, including 'virtual wards' and a focus on he mental wellbeing of staff. But Lord Clarke now says that more drastic measures may be needed as the NHS copes with continued backlogs brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, rising cases of flu and other viruses and strikes.
Speaking to Times Radio's Matt Chorley on Monday, January 9, Lord Clarke said: "I do think, and I would have reacted to this ferociously at any time until the current crisis, we may have to look at some means of the better off patients making some modest contribution to their treatment, which we have always had in the case of prescription charges.
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"We do pay [for prescriptions] until you become a pensioner, however well off you are as a pensioner, which is an anomaly. We may have to look for other small payments.
"It's just possible, I've not converted yet, but I do understand why people are saying that. Those who say they just want to go to a wholly insurance-based system, I'm still as flatly opposed to that as ever."
The idea of financially better off patients paying more for their treatment was floated at one point in Scotland, when the BBC obtained minutes from a meeting of senior health officials there last September claiming the plan had been given the "green light." But Scotland's First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, immediately said that she was "emphatically" against it.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has previously pledged that the NHS will remain free at the point of use for all patients, regardless of their financial situation. But Lord Clarke added: "It has to be means-tested, which is a bit of a problem. We can't rule it out because we always increase public spending in real terms every year."
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