Charging patients for hospital stays will not translate into new funding (Charge for hospital stays to help fund NHS, says ex-health boss, 24 July). Turning health professionals into tax collectors comes at a cost in time, and changes the relationship with those we treat.
Dental charges, originally designed to lower the demand for services, have become a substitute for meaningful state investment. In the decade leading up to the pandemic, government contributions fell year on year, as a flatlining budget was plugged by inflation-busting hikes in charges. No patient should have to pay more just so ministers can pay less.
Eddie Crouch
Chair, British Dental Association
• We know from dental and eyecare charges that the most vulnerable suffer the greatest impact; £8 may not seem much, but some are already choosing between eating and heating. If a tax rise is not palatable, a future government could put a levy on business profits, as a healthy workforce will be more productive, and why not charge private providers to work in the NHS as they don’t have the same fixed costs as NHS facilities?
Warren Brown
Ilkley, West Yorkshire
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