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NHS may have to ration more treatments, GPs warn
March 02, 2012
A poll of GPs has found that many believe the NHS will have to ration more treatments in future.
The national health service may have to ration more treatments in future in order to meet growing financial pressure, GPs have warned.
A survey of 821 family doctors in England, commissioned by the Nuffield Trust, revealed that 85 per cent think the government will have to define what care is - and is not - available to patients more clearly.
This means that in future, more patients could turn to private medical insurance to ensure they have access to the treatments they wish to use.
The survey, which was carried out by Doctors.net.uk, also revealed that only half of GPs believe the NHS will manage to improve efficiency enough to avoid scaling back the services that are funded over the next five years.
Dr Judith Smith, head of policy at the Nuffield Trust, said: "The current system for defining what is in and out of the NHS 'offer' is far from ideal - many people believe it is opaque and that your postcode can determine whether or not you get access to certain treatments."
Royal College of GPs chair Dr Clare Gerada told the Guardian that a "sensible debate" is needed to see how the current range of NHS care can be reduced to save money.
One controversial suggestion is that the NHS should focus on improving the quality of life at the end of people's lives, rather than spending money on expensive drugs that may only slightly extend their lives.
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