The NHS guarantee card

The announcement that private facilities are to be used to provide some healthcare services without charge to NHS patients is an important step on the road to improving the NHS. More such steps should be taken

All UK citizens should be given an NHS Guarantee card, like a credit card, that guarantees them free treatment. Their Health Guarantee card must give whoever treats them full access to their health records, previous treatments, together with any previous or current conditions. It must cover the cost of their treatment, funded by the state.

In the event of any delay in access to treatment in the public health sector, the card should be valid for private sector treatment, with a cap on costs similar to those widely used in automotive and housing insurance. Such caps should be subject to periodic review by the Department for Health and Social Care.

With the funding of healthcare covered by social insurance, the delivery of healthcare should be provided by a mix of public and private facilities paid by the state or private insurers on the basis of the treatments they deliver. GPs should be paid according to the number of times they see and treat patients, with in-person consultations paying more than video or telephone meetings. Doctors would be paid for providing healthcare for patients, rather than for having them on their books, which is the current system.

Similarly, hospitals and consultants should receive their funding according to the treatments they provide. The government should make contracts with them to provide healthcare on an agreed basis.

GPs, consultants and hospitals should be given their independence through a wider rollout of NHS Foundation Trusts, rather than being managed by a centralized bureaucracy. They should compete to provide treatments, to attract patients, and might be encouraged to specialize in doing what they do best.

There should be tax deductions for those who use supplementary private insurance to save the state money and resources. This happens in Australia, where most people take out private cover in addition to the state’s Medicare programme that guarantees them treatment. Since the private insurers cannot take into account the current health status of the applicant, the risk is pooled.

UK doctors are leaving in significant numbers to go to Australia, some as soon as they have finished their qualifications. Yes the changes outlined herein could potentially make the UK’s NHS as efficient, as attractive, and as popular as healthcare in Australia is.