NHS cuts

A few patients have been asking about potential NHS cuts - as yet, there have been no proposals to reduce services in our area, but there is evidence of a drive to make existing services more accountable. The practice has seen a reduction in funding for our dispensary of almost £10k a year and many pharmaceutical companies are reviewing the prices of their drugs, putting us under increasing pressure. Patients have commented on charges for non NHS work such as HGV medicals, which previously were not charged for. This type of work is outside the scope of the NHS and therefore will attract a small fee, and this is increasingly used to support the ongoing work of the surgery in the light of the funding restrictions. Many smaller practices are having to consider merging, but I suspect that this will ultimately lead to a less localised service and more travelling/less home visits for patients.