"Is private prescribing the thin edge of the wedge? Is it the end of the NHS as we know it? We tried to set-up a debate on this last year, but could not get any politicians, from any of the parties, to participate. Why? I am beginning to suspect that there is a cross-party consensus on private prescribing in the NHS and that they would rather not put their heads above the parapet as they have too much to lose. I am very keen to get to the bottom of how, and who, was responsible for this change in NHS policy? I need to know if this is the shape of things to come. Will the NHS increasingly provide a two-tiered system? Should we prepare ourselves for a future of NHS haves and have-nots? I don’t know the answer to these questions, but it needs a public debate. In a world of austerity in which soaring health costs need to be addressed there are no right and wrong answers. Allowing private prescriptions in the NHS may be a subtle way of the government telling the British electorate that we can’t afford the NHS in its current form and we need to top it up with private contributions. If that is the case the Government, or the Whitehall mandarins who thought up this change in policy, should tell us their plans for the future of the NHS."
"I need to know how to deal with issue of private prescribing. I need to rationalise how I am going to deal with this issue in my clinic. At the moment I am referring patients who make a request for a private prescription to my colleagues who don’t have a moral problem with this issue."
"To get more information on this topic we are going to task an intern, or work-experience student, with the job of investigating this issue. As part of his/her job I will ask them to periodically update you on this issue via the blog. If any of you can help please feel free to contact us. The primary objective of this exercise is to get a genuine public debate on this issue that will hopefully lead to some clarity."
"If you are interested in this issue please read some of our previous posts on the topic."