CHARGING Brits to use the NHS could help save the health service, former Conservative MP Ken Clarke has said.
Given the current crisis, Lord Clarke said it would be reasonable for the use of some treatments to incur a fee.
GettyFormer Tory MP Ken Clarke said patients having to pay for NHS services can’t be ruled out[/caption]
His comments come as it was today revealed that some trusts will be given £200m to buy up beds in residential homes, care homes, hospices, private hospitals and hotels, enabling more patients to be discharged quicker.
It’s hoped that this will help clear a backlog of patients and will help get the sickest the treatment they need.
It comes as a whopping 7million Brits are currently on NHS waiting lists.
And the government estimates around 13,000 patients are using hospital beds they don’t need.
As pressure mounts, both nurses and ambulance workers are both set to strike once more this month as they protect pay and conditions.
It was revealed last week that the number of people in hospital with the flu is at the highest in a decade.
Speaking on Times Radio, Lord Clarke said he previously would not have agreed with charging better off Brits for some services.
However, he said the current state of the NHS has made him shift his perspective.
“As health demands of the population, an ageing population, get ever higher, and more expensive, it’s taking up an ever-increasing amount of GDP.
“We may have to look at some means of making the better off patients making some modest contribution to their healthcare,” he said.
Charges for smaller procedures and appointments via a means test basis ‘can’t be ruled out’, he added.
He did however rule out an insurance system, similar to the one seen in the US.
Lord Clarke’s comments follow Health Secretary Steve Barclay’s plans to help save the service.
Mr Barclay said he’s drawn up an emergency recovery plan for the NHS.
The scheme targets three areas: the immediate crisis in healthcare, preparing for next winter and longer term prevention of bad health to safeguard the service.
This morning Rishi Sunak insisted it’s not too late to save the NHS as it faces one of the worst crises in decades.
Speaking from a community health centre in Leeds, the PM vowed he’s been doing his best for “months” to improve healthcare.
It comes amid criticism from Labour that ministers are taking a “sticking plaster” approach to fixing NHS issues.
Mr Sunak said: “Months ago the Government announced £0.5 billion in extra funding to speed up the discharge of people into their communities or back home, where that makes sense.
“Today’s announcement is for even more funding to help support those initiatives.”