Sunak drops pledge to fine patients who miss doctor’s appointment

Now is not the right time to take this policy forward, says prime minister’s spokesperson

Rishi Sunak has dropped his Conservative leadership campaign pledge to fine patients £10 if they miss a GP or hospital appointment.

The prime minister had told Tory members in August it was “wrong” that there were “15m missed appointments every year” at GPs and hospitals, as he justified the fine as a “tough” measure to change people’s behaviour.

In a blue on blue attack, Sunak, then a former chancellor with no portfolio, told members that “no one had bothered tackling” the issue for years, even though the Tories had been in power for more than a decade.

“It’s not valuing our doctors properly but it’s also, more importantly, depriving people of care that they urgently need, making them wait unnecessarily long, so I’ve said I want to get tough on this,” he said at the time.

But a Downing Street spokesperson said on Friday: “The PM wants to deliver a stronger NHS and the sentiment remains that people should not be missing their appointments and taking up NHS time. But we have listened to GPs and health leaders and have acknowledged that now is not the right time to take this policy forward.”

Health experts had widely criticised the plans. The British Medical Association said the measure would “make matters worse” and threaten the principle of free NHS care at the point of need.

Sunak’s press secretary said the prime minister was instead “committed to delivering the commitments made” in the Tories’ 2019 election manifesto.

In the summer, Sunak had presented the fines as being a necessary temporary measure until the post-coronavirus backlogs were tackled. “Under my government there will never be charges for care in our NHS,” he said. “But I will charge people who waste valuable NHS time by booking appointments and failing to attend.”

Sunak also vowed to cut NHS waiting lists, saying it was his “No 1 public service priority” if he were to become PM. He pledged to create a “vaccines style” taskforce on day 1 of his premiership dedicated to tackling backlogs.

The PM lent support to a plan to expand the number of community diagnostic hubs by repurposing 58,000 vacant high street shops, with the aim of increasing the number of such hubs to 200 by March 2024 in the hope of easing the backlog.

Contributor

Aletha Adu

The GuardianTramp

Related Content

Article image
Rishi Sunak accused of misleading public over emergency NHS funding
Exclusive: Hospitals and councils have not received £300m promised four months ago to free up beds

Andrew Gregory Health editor

05, Jan, 2023 @3:22 PM

Article image
Ex-Tory cabinet minister calls on Rishi Sunak to help resolve NHS pay disputes
Politician says PM ‘so focused on hiding in plain sight’ and echoes growing calls for PM to step in to avert strike

Kevin Rawlinson and Aletha Adu

17, Feb, 2023 @12:14 PM

Article image
Rishi Sunak appears ready to try to tough out further wave of NHS strikes
High-risk tactic increases likelihood of combined stoppages by nurses and junior doctors in England

Peter Walker Political correspondent

16, Apr, 2023 @5:13 PM

Article image
Doctors criticise ‘delusional’ Rishi Sunak for denying NHS is in crisis
Anger and disbelief over claim service in England has money to cope with surge in winter illness

Denis Campbell and Peter Walker

03, Jan, 2023 @7:00 PM

Article image
Sunak’s ‘intransigence’ on pay will lead to more NHS strikes, warns top doctor
Exclusive: BMA council chair says medics will have no option but to stage more industrial action until ministers make ‘credible offer’

Andrew Gregory Health editor

11, Aug, 2023 @5:59 PM

Article image
NHS chiefs blame staff shortages for record 7.4m people on waiting lists in England
Leaders urge government to publish long-awaited workforce plan as figures reveal unsustainable pressure on NHS

Pamela Duncan , Rachel Hall and Kiran Stacey

08, Jun, 2023 @12:46 PM

Article image
Pharmacist at former Sunak family chemist wary of PM’s health plans
Jithender Ballepu says more staff and funding would be needed and has concerns about passing antibiotics over the counter

Steven Morris

09, May, 2023 @5:52 PM

Article image
Rishi Sunak preparing for fresh concessions to end public sector strikes
Negotiations with teachers begin and junior doctors also agree to formal talks following action this week

Heather Stewart, Kiran Stacey, Richard Adams and Rachel Hall

17, Mar, 2023 @8:31 PM

Article image
Sunak accused of ‘rewriting history’ by saying No 10 ignored lockdown harms
Tory leadership hopeful says he was prevented from raising negative effects of Covid measures

Aubrey Allegretti, Nicola Davis and Caroline Davies

25, Aug, 2022 @7:31 PM

Article image
Tories’ 2019 NHS promises may come back to bite them
Party’s success in ‘neutralising’ issue of public services in election campaigns is unlikely to work again

Heather Stewart

01, Oct, 2023 @6:28 PM