Sajid Javid urges ‘unsustainable’ NHS to charge patients for GP and A&E visits

Former health-secretary Sajid Javid has weighed in on NHS reform suggesting charging patients for GP and A&E visits

Sajid Javid has called for ‘unsustainable’ NHS to charge patients for GP AND A&E visits following record waiting times in the UK. The former health secretary wants to see a “grown-up, hard-headed conversation” about reforming the NHS.

In a recent op-ed for the Times, Javid said that “extending the contributory principle” should be included in radical reforms to tackle high waiting times. According to NHS data, a record number of patients in England waited more than 12 hours in A&E in December.

Sajid Javid - who announced he won’t be standing as a Conservative MP in the next general election - added that “too often the appreciation for the NHS has become a religious fervour and a barrier to reform”.

Former chancellor of the exchequer Sajid Javid is to step down.

The call comes months after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was forced to retract plans to introduce a £10 fine to patients who missed GP appointments. The measure was widely criticised by health professionals but indicative of further conversations of reform to come.

Downing Street informed the Times the prime minister is not “currently” considering the proposals.