By Nation special report
LONDON: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has scrapped a Tory leadership campaign pledge he made to fine patients in England £10 if they miss GP or hospital appointments.
He made the pledge during this summer’s leadership contest against Liz Truss.
Mr Sunak had argued it was “not right” some patients were failing to turn up, taking slots from those in need, BBC has reported.
But a No 10 spokeswoman said that, after “listening to GPs”, the government decided it was “not the right time” for the policy. She added that Mr Sunak wanted to deliver “a stronger NHS and the sentiment remains that people should not be missing their appointments and taking up NHS time”.
Critics of the proposal included doctors’ union the British Medical Association (BMA), which said it would “make matters worse” and threaten the NHS’s principle of free care at the point of need.
The BMA welcomed the decision to scrap the plan and said it “cannot be brought back to the table later down the line”.
It said “punishing” patients was not the answer to the many reasons people miss appointments, and the policy would “only deter the most vulnerable from seeking the help they need, worsen health inequalities, and ultimately undermine the essential trust between doctor and patient”.
Instead, the BMA said the government must work to improve pay and other conditions to ensure the NHS has safe levels of staff.
Reflecting a similar view, the Royal College of GPs said the plans would have disadvantaged some of the NHS’s most vulnerable patients. Chairman of the college Prof Martin Marshall said the move would “simply have been tinkering at the edges given the scale of the crisis facing GPs and our teams”.
Mr Sunak had also pledged to eliminate one-year waiting times by September 2024, and get the number of people waiting for non-urgent treatment in England falling by next year.
He pledged to do this by boosting the number of “diagnostic hubs” outside hospitals, including by repurposing empty High Street shops. He also pledged to reform dentists’ NHS contract, and ring fence the annual £3bn NHS dentistry budget.
The decision came as Mr Sunak met patients and staff at Croydon University Hospital in his first visit as prime minister.
A patient was filmed telling the prime minister he needed to “try harder” to pay NHS staff more. Mr Sunak replied “he would take that away” following the exchange.
During the summer the Conservative Party membership chose Ms Truss over Mr Sunak, but this week he succeeded her by winning enough nominations from Tory MPs on Monday following her resignation.
No 10 backs Suella Braverman
No 10 has said Suella Braverman has “strong relationships” with the security services, following concerns about her return as home secretary. Reports have emerged suggesting that, as attorney general, she was investigated over the leak of a story involving MI5.
Ms Braverman was reappointed as home secretary just days after she resigned over separate data breaches. Several Conservative MPs have raised questions about her reappointment.
Mark Pritchard – a former member of Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee – said in a tweet: “MI5 need to have confidence in the home secretary, whoever that might be.
“It’s a vital relationship of trust, key to the UK’s security and democratic oversight of MI5. Any breakdown in that relationship is bad for the security service and the government. It needs to be sorted asap.”
Asked whether Prime Minister Rishi Sunak believed MI5 had confidence in Ms Braverman, his official spokesperson said: “Yes, the home secretary continues to have strong relationships with all the operational bodies that report into the Home Office and are focused very much on keeping the country safe.”