Helen Salisbury: Zombie health policies and missed appointments

As reliably as the sun rising in the east and September bringing a new school year, in any discussion about the health service someone will raise the idea of charging for missed appointments. It’s such an obviously stupid proposal that I don’t think I need to rehearse the arguments against it here—but I will. Not for fun, but because we should recognise this for what it is: a dangerous and ideological attack on the founding principles of the NHS.1Why do people miss appointments? Because they didn’t get the letter (our local hospital has absurdly outdated notions about the speed and efficacy of the postal service). Because they’re too ill to go. Because they’re having a mental health crisis. None of these will be helped by issuing fines. Perhaps a few people do decide, “You know what? I’d rather go down the pub than get my piles seen to,” but I…
Read Original Article: Helen Salisbury: Zombie health policies and missed appointments »