Therefore, for the young, affordable and able perhaps paying a bit to see private non-urgent GP is much better, leaving the NHS for other more urgent matter with people who are less fortunate.

Yes just like dentistry. It worked really well there!!

My doctor’s appointment is one month wait for non-urgent matter

The receptionists at my local practice don’t ask what it’s about. Waiting time a couple of days.

Why not if you can afford to?

Why not indeed but it seems you don’t want to pay the going rate.

chewkw – Member

Where in GeordieLand you tell me. i.e. Where in North East?

I am Certainly not paying the rate of £78/20 mins but I am will to pay £40/20mins for non-urgent consultation.

Why don’t you google it yourself? Ideally before you go off on an illconceived rant for 2 pages.

I am Certainly not paying the rate of £78/20 mins

I am willing to pay if it makes me well

Tell you what, why don’t you find a quiet room and argue with yourself for a while and decide what you think, then come back and tell us.

Drac – Moderator

Why not if you can afford to?

Why not indeed but it seems you don’t want to pay the going rate. [/quote]
That is the rate I found out but I am not sure they are for normal GP consultation hence going rate is too high due to limited availability. i.e. demand high supply low.

If there are more private GP practice the price will reduce hopefully for non-urgent consultation.

Northwind – Member
Why don’t you google it yourself?

I did. I found one they might be specialist I don’t know but the rate is £78 per 20 mins.

Tell you what, why don’t you find a quiet room and argue with yourself for a while and decide what you think, then come back and tell us.

The reason is that you have NO non-urgent GP private practices that are affordable. If there are more the price will not be that high. Yes, some might still charge high but as a paying person I have choice.

I want to pay but I don’t want to pay ransom.

slowoldman – Member
Yes just like dentistry. It worked really well there!!

My dentist is private. He seems to be doing very well with people coming over from all other regions to get him to fix their tooth.

The receptionists at my local practice don’t ask what it’s about. Waiting time a couple of days.

Lucky you but since mine is non-urgent I can wait while buying temporary remedy from the Boots pharmacy.

My dentist is private. He seems to be doing very well with people coming over from all other regions to get him to fix their tooth.

Absolutely fine for me too, I’m private as I can afford it. But, since more dentists went private and closed or massively reduced their NHS lists it has become difficult for many to find dental care they can afford. I could see the same happening with GPs.

Oh and your local surgery is broken.

<snip>

Can’t believe I started engaging with Chewkw! Schoolboy error.

My dentist is private. He seems to be doing very well with people coming over from all other regions to get him to fix their tooth.

If they only have one tooth that doesn’t say much about your dentist or our model of private healthcare.

Here you go chewkw

What do we make of Surrey then?
Sauce.
Heard on r4 earlier: Conservative bloke from massively conservative council with Hammond AND Hunt as local MP’s bemoans millions of pounds of cuts from central government and proposes 15% hike in council tax to savd local social care for the elderly. I think we can safely agree that if implemented, this is one way to help and ease the burden at the front and back end of the acute hospitals locally.

I am not sure I agree with the method: if this referendum goes through, will we have the implication that social care is no longer the ultimate responsibility of central government?

surely local authorities with more people on lower rates or not paying it through various exemptions, or more elderly and infirm people will find this harder to manage than Surrey? Can’t see it being quite as straightforward in say Liverpool or Sunderland!! Postcode lottery etc…

I will be very interested to see how this is campaigned and indeed what a very conservative group of voters will make of this. I am certain their MP’s will support this but who would willingly vote to put £££ on their council tax?

Interesting story Julian for sure – as were the different responses from the “man-in-the-street”!!

Another bloody referendum 😉

£200 on band D! 😯
That’s gonna ruffle a few feathers!

(From the ‘man in the street’ comments:

4 minutes ago
pension schemes are now pyramid funds (run with huge deficits)-

THM you are busy 😉

Where was that from Julian ?

Yeah no one that’s the point of the publicity stunt.

What will be interesting is when the government force localised control of budgets, in order to offload blame, whilst cutting central government funding to these local administrators. In others words letting them carry the can for it in the media, cue a round of scapegoating/sackings, public apologies and it’s all alright now scenarios 🙄

We won’t fall for that though will we 😆

Thm, comments on the BBC link i popped in my ninja edit on last page. You have to expand the bottom of the page.
I lifted that quote from a rather more poorly worded version of something I thought you might post after a couple of gins. :p

Chestercopperpot if all that is the case then it’s no coincidence at all that it is Surrey that this is happening in (in terms of what a difference this would make to the working lives of their local MP’s 🙁 )

No gin needed, it’s true

We have good adult education courses down here!!

Surrey council tax referendum killed off by alleged sweetheart deal.

Well this looks embarrassing: Surrey council, home of Hammond and Hunt’s constituency has somehow pulled off the impossible and found a solution to the embarrassing possibility of a referendum to hike council tax by 15% to pay for social care. Which is of course great news for basically everybody in Surrey. The embarrassing part being the window into the process that we get from these text messages, and the coincidence of the embarrassment that the referendum would cause to the Secretary of State for health and chancellor.

julianwilson – Member
Surrey council tax referendum killed off by alleged sweetheart deal.

Saw that. Special deals here and there, hey? Just like Nissan, etc.

So. When is a pilot scheme a pilot scheme, and when is it (and I quote Hodge here) a gentleman’s agreement between the cabinet and the council hosting the constituencies of the chancellor and Secretary of State for health?
Rabid leftist frothing from the torygraph here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03/07/surrey-council-boss-tells-gentlemans-agreement-ministers-social/

Isn’t the reality that the council leader was told “off the record” that the matter would be addressed in the bduget. Or a simple “trust us, we are going to sort this out in March”

“So. When is a pilot scheme a pilot scheme, and when is it (and I quote Hodge here) a gentleman’s agreement between the cabinet and the council hosting the constituencies of the chancellor and Secretary of State for health?
Rabid leftist frothing from the torygraph here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03/07/surrey-council-boss-tells-gentlemans-agreement-ministers-social/&#8221;

Err, what’s wrong with that? Seems perfectly reasonable to me. Council leader tells Govt that without Social care being addressed they’ll be raising tax which will embarrassing the govt. Govt address social care. That’s the system working isn’t it?

Would if still be wrong if it was (say) a Lib Dem making the threat?

I am not sure I agree with the method: if this referendum goes through, will we have the implication that social care is no longer the ultimate responsibility of central government?

Consider yourself a relatively well off Tory voter in this constituency. If your council tax goes up by 15% it’s annoying but not particularly troublesome. If your income tax goes up by 15% it impacts on both time in your Spanish holiday home and at the golf club. At the same time, the poor in society are disproportionately paying because their council tax payments as a percentage of their income are far higher, but their income tax is relatively low (depending on their TFA, possibly zero).

The costs get covered, the voters are happy (because deep down councils have only one interest), and central government can stick to their policy of no tax increases while running thr country into the ground and pocketing a fortune.