Top Doctor Says Free Health Care is on Its Last Legs

PATIENTS will have to pay for treatment under a radical plan to change the way the National Health Service is funded.

Britain’s most senior doctor warned yesterday that the current system – which sees taxpayers meet the cost of the NHS – will have to end.

Bernie Ribeiro, the new president of the Royal College of Surgeons, says patients should pay for care through social insurance.

The scheme would be means tested, with the poorest paying nothing, while others would cover part of the bill by taking out health insurance.

But his proposal sparked an outcry last night.

Union leaders and MPs condemned the plans and demanded that the NHS remains free at the point of use.

Ministers insisted that there were no plans to change the current system of NHS funding, which has enjoyed a huge cash boost since Labour came to power in 1997.

But some senior Government figures privately agree with Mr Ribeiro that taxpayers cannot fund the NHS forever and welcomed a debate on how it is paid for in future. Mr Ribeiro said his proposals would help people value the healthcare they get and generate more cash for the NHS.

The Ribeiro plan would see patients paying part of the bill for their treatment and taking out insurance to cover the rest of the cost.

But Unison, the UK’s largest health union, condemned the plan.

A spokeswoman said: "The NHS is something the public is rightly proud of and I think any attempt to make people pay for their treatment would cause a public outcry."

Liberal Democrat health spokeswoman Julia Goldsworthy said: "We must ensure that health care is provided on the basis of need and not ability to pay."

British Medical Association spokesman James Johnson said: "We still believe a system funded by taxation is the least worst option. There is little public appetite for a move towards an insurance system."

Nigel Edwards, policy director at the NHS Confederation which represents health service managers, said: "The basis for social insurance is directly from people’s incomes and is usually compulsory – that sounds to me like a tax."

Chancellor Gordon Brown ruled out any move from a tax-funded NHS after a review in the last Parliament. He raised national insurance contributions to channel extra cash into healthcare following recommendations made by the Wanless report on the future of the NHS.

vincent moss@mgn.co.uk

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