Refusing to means-test free prescriptions as doctors face bankruptcy makes no sense

Universal benefits are fine when times are good and the country can afford them. However, we need to face the fact that times are bad and we cannot afford many of them.

The starkest example is in the NHS where, regardless of income, patients are entitled to free prescriptions. Meanwhile, there are waiting lists for treatment of one, two, three years or more and, for many, trying to get a GP’s appointment is like trying to get tickets to see Taylor Swift.

The latest evidence that the NHS is falling apart comes from GPs in the Lothians. Dr Andrew Forder, chair of the Lothian Local Medical Committee, said overworked doctors facing “burnout” were also now confronted by the “very real risk of insolvency”. So much so that “many are now exploring how to restructure their businesses with one eye on the possibility of having to close... so that if they go bust, their houses don't get taken".

GPs shouldn't have to worry about going out of business (Picture: Carl Court) | Getty Images

Public money is tight

A GP losing everything is a tragedy not only for them but also their patients. If there is a spate of such cases, the consequences for primary healthcare would be profound. How many trainee doctors would want to become a GP if they knew there would be a real chance of bankruptcy?

GPs are doctors, not businesspeople, and they have enough to worry about without the spectre of financial ruin hanging over their heads because of a lack of government funding.

Clearly, public money is tight and taxes are at historically high levels, which means ministers need to be careful about any further increases. Introducing fees for some prescriptions would bring in money that could be used to employ more GPs and ensure they are on a sound financial footing.

In England, about 95 per cent of NHS prescriptions are free and the flat fee for the rest is below the cost of many of the drugs involved. A similar system in Scotland would raise tens of millions of pounds.

The vast majority of people who can afford to pay would far rather do that than be told their GP cannot see them because they’ve just gone out of business.