19 June 2008
A review of the policy of denying NHS services to patients who 'top up' their care by buying drugs privately must ensure the health service is compensated for any associated costs, a leading health commentator has said.
This week, Health Secretary Alan Johnson launched a review of the practice on top-up treatments, to be led by government cancer czar Professor Mike Richards.
Niall Dickson, chief executive at the King's Fund think-tank, welcomed the review but warned it would not be easy to find a solution that balanced patients' rights with the principle of care based on need rather than ability to pay.
'The review should ensure that the NHS is compensated for any associated costs incurred and also consider the impact on patients who cannot afford top-ups,' he said.
But Andrew Haldenby, director of the pro-market think-tank Reform, said: 'This marks the end of the NHS as a system based entirely on clinical need, not the ability to pay. It opens the door to a mixed system of funding.'
PFjun2008
