Heart attack

Saturday, January 05, 2013

Doctors are to be paid for non-referrals

03 January 2013

 Doctors are to be paid for non-referrals


'From this April, GPs are to be given an incentive of around £7,500 not to refer patients with pneumonia, heart problems or urinary infections to hospital accident and emergency departments.'

'The idea has come from the NHS Commissioning Board which is said to believe that people with these conditions – which tend to be the elderly – are better treated at home.'

'However, Laurence Buckman, chairman of the British Medical Association's GPs' committee, called the idea is "an inappropriate, unethical waste of taxpayers' money".'

'He added: "I don't want  a single patient walking into my surgery and saying [sic] my grandma's dead because you refused to admit her. So we're not going to admit people with pneumonia? I think most doctors will be horrified by this.'

' "Patients might suspect that I was doing things to them in order that I would get money. I don't want to be paid because someone was admitted or not admitted, I want to be paid because I did my job. I wouldn't dream of participating in such a scheme." '

From the website www.publicservice.co.uk

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