Forwarded by Adrian Midgley.
I wrote to my MP (well, e-mailed)
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From: Adrian Midgley
Date: 19/2/1998 19:55
Subject: Pillock in DoH
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I thought Mr Dobson got a hard time on Radio 4 today, and he has my
sympathy.
However, within his department there is somebody who has
distinguished himself by foolishness.
The offending document, HSC 1998/003 is signed by one Mr M Farrar
asst sec DoH but I doubt he would wish to be thought responsible
for it.
This relates to the decision of the DH in opposition to the NHS
Appeals unit, that no fee should be payable for a temporary resident
being treated without their meeting in the flesh the claiming GP.
This is hardly going to be a benefit to holidaymakers in the
counties in which large numbers of holidaymakers frequently visit,
eg Devon, nor to the GPs in those counties eg me.
The consequences include making a problem for any practice which has
the NHS specified, NHS approved, NHS mission critical, and (just
about) NHS paid for software intended to automate much of the
registration process - you can't make notes without registering th
patient, unless you do something unusual to it.
I would be grateful if you would enquire of the Secretary of State
for Health:-
- who decided that there was something broken, and therefore to fix
it
- what the magnitude of the effect on cost to the NHS of paying
fees for temporary residents advised only by telephone is.
(Parenthetically, the answer to the latter is in fact "none", since
the pool arrangements for GPs pay garantee that however money is
shifted around, the total remains constant.)
There is considerable irritation, and more contempt for the level of
thought displayed in this wholly unjustified (by which I mean nobody
has said why it was a problem) action.
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