Patients would rather get quicker access to a GP and hospital treatment than keep the NHS free at the point of use, a study reveals.
The public has become so fed up with long waits that it may be prepared to forgo the founding principle of the health service, the Policy Exchange think tank said.
Its representative poll of 2,000 voters found 61 per cent want health chiefs to prioritise easier access to GPs and 44 per cent want them to focus on more timely treatment for life-threatening conditions.
But just 41 per cent say maintaining NHS services free of charge should be a key aim. Others honed in on problems accessing a dentist.
Policy Exchange’s ‘Portrait of Modern Britain: Health’ report calls for a ‘three strikes’ rule and £50 fines to be introduced to penalise those who repeatedly miss NHS appointments.
It also demands a National Dentistry Plan to ensure essential dental services become a basic entitlement for citizens and says the Immigration Health Surcharge should be increased to £1,500 a year.
John Power, senior fellow in health and care at Policy Exchange, said: ‘Our polling reveals the public are open to trade-offs on NHS reform, with improved performance of core services more important than all services being free at the point of use.
The public has become so fed up with long waits that it may be prepared to forgo the founding principle of the health service (file image)
A representative poll of 2,000 voters found 61 per cent want health chiefs to prioritise easier access to GPs (file image)
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‘The crisis in NHS dentistry has cut through to the public and the case for major reforms is clear – as are reforms to clampdown on health tourism which is regarded as an issue across the political spectrum.’
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: ‘People shouldn’t have to choose between a health service that works and an NHS free at the point of use.
‘This government is rejecting that sort of poverty of ambition and fighting back against the status quo of managed decline.
‘Instead, we are reforming the NHS to improve productivity, cut waste, and get patients seen on time as they used to be.’
