can we charge the NHS??

Lil_Me_2

rsykes2000 wrote: »

Dentists can do this. Doctors can't yet, but it has been discussed at length over the last 10 years.

NHS dentists can't charge you for missed appointments, but they can refuse to treat you in the future.

pinkshoes

pmduk wrote: »

I bet they don't charge people who miss an appointment.

I would rather switch to the French system where you pay for appointments and claim them back, and all those who miss an appointment still get billed.

Yes, it was a clerical error, but an error that cost someone half a days wages through no fault of their own. Not everyone can afford to lose half a days pay.

The NHS may be "free", but it's paid for through our National insurance contributions/tax etc... The error could have been avoided by running a more efficient system, which would probably save money too. If no one complains about things like this, then nothing will get done.

This is a money saving forum, and I think many of you are being way too harsh and getting on your high horses. If you all feel that losing half a day's pay due to poor management is ok, then how about you reimburse the OP yourselves??

voiceofreason

pinkshoes wrote: »

I would rather switch to the French system where you pay for appointments and claim them back, and all those who miss an appointment still get billed.

Yes, it was a clerical error, but an error that cost someone half a days wages through no fault of their own. Not everyone can afford to lose half a days pay.

The NHS may be "free", but it's paid for through our National insurance contributions/tax etc... The error could have been avoided by running a more efficient system, which would probably save money too. If no one complains about things like this, then nothing will get done.

This is a money saving forum, and I think many of you are being way too harsh and getting on your high horses. If you all feel that losing half a day's pay due to poor management is ok, then how about you reimburse the OP yourselves??

Who else read this and imagined the poster's voice getting louder and more high-pitched as the message went on?

Anyway - point's not necessarily that "losing half a day's pay due to poor management is ok" (in fact, I don't think anyone said that - largely because it's a particularly stupid thing to suggest, isn't it?), more that the OP suggested some nonsense along the lines of "If you miss an appointment and waste NHS time they'll charge you", or whatever.

Which, as even you imply in your post, simply does not happen now.

This approach - we'll call it the "talking belligerent nonsense" approach for simplicity here - really got people's backs up, and this is how we come to a situation such as we're at now.

Of course, if you'd read the thread through, you'd probably already know this.

pelirocco

Why didnt you take a half day paid holiday?

alleycat`

wouldn't that still be half of the ops day wasted?

I had a similar experience where by the doctor didn't receive the delivery of immunisations (because of the snow).

I don't class it as a day wasted as i got to spend it with my son but i was "beeping" annoyed they didn't call me and say it hadn't arrived.

I'm sure the receptionist would have expected the same of me if i was going to be delivering something to her house and we didn't have it in stock.

rsykes2000

Lil_Me wrote: »

NHS dentists can't charge you for missed appointments, but they can refuse to treat you in the future.

In Scotland and NI they can charge, but you're correct to say not England, I should have specified that. http://www.dentalhealth.org.uk/faqs/leafletdetail.php?LeafletID=30

hartcjhart

compo compo ,compo,
all i want is compo,get a life mistakes happen

Norant

Some people.


Honestly do you really think that this warrants trying to get compo out of the NHS.

Good grief.

hartcjhart

is this the same NHS that looked after your wife in her pregnancy,the same that looked after her in childbirth,that looked after your baby in his/her first few days that probably cost overall the best part of £50grand

Markie11

jimkenyon wrote: »

Since when was the NHS free? I thought that we paid for it out of our NI contributions.

The OP is part of the reason why this country is in mess. Trying to claim unnecesarily from OUR pot.

I agree with most of the comments made in this thread but have to elaborate on JimKenyon's point that the NHS is not free. We all (or most of us) pay contributions to the running of the NHS. I look at my contributions as an insurance policy, to be honest it's not far off the American style where they have health care policies but the good thing about our system is that even the poorer families still get it when they wouldn't necessarily afford it if was private.

Personally I've been very fortunate in that I've always had very good health, having only received NHS assistance on very few occassions i.e. being born, head stitch when younger. My personal contribution into the system has heavily outweighed what I've taken back out, but I see what the service offers to others, some of those being my family members. I currently pay for private dentistry due to not being able to get an NHS place, and yes this does annoy me, especially when you get threads with subjects like this one.

The NHS is there for the unfortunate ones who need it most. Yes it can be annoying when you have to wait for appointments or they're cancelled, but you can't claim for these.

Leave our NHS alone, but give it the respect it deserves.