A Tory MEP has sparked another debate on the NHS after suggesting that working people should be charged £10 to see their GP.
The Conservatives’ European Parliament spokesman on foreign affairs, Charles Tannock (pictured), believes such payments – and fines for non-attendance – could help fund the health service.
However, shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley vetoed the plans, saying he believed it would cost the NHS more money to operate the system than it would receive in fees and fines.
The latest disagreement row comes in the wake of another MEP, Daniel Hannan, telling American television the NHS as a whole had been a “60-year mistake” and that he “wouldn’t wish it on anyone” – causing huge embarrassment to the party.
Dr Tannock, a consultant psychiatrist before being elected as an MEP, told Channel 4 News: “I would be totally in favour of small co-payments, small payments being made if you turn up to things and perhaps small fines being levied if you do not.”
Copyright © Press Association 2009
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