Doctors believe Govt wants British N.H.S.

Press, 28 October 1981, Page 3

Doctors believe Govt wants British N.H.S.

PA Auckland The Government wants to scrap the general practitioner service and replace it with a national health system similar to the one in Britain, says an executive member of the General Practitioner Society. Dr Jim Kelly, of Wanganui, said that G.P.s would be employed by the Government, probably at about $30,000 a year. “Most of the General Practitioners Society are convinced that this is what is happening,” he said. This was the only conclusion to be drawn from the Government’s refusal to increase the subsidy for general practice patients.

Hospitals were being given more and more money to provide the same services that G.P.s gave, he said. Doctors would obviously oppose any suggestion of a national service. Dr Kelly said that while patients would not have to pay for a visit to their doctor, they would probably have to make up for it with increased taxes, while doctors would be expected to pay their own expenses out of their set pay rates. Dr Kelly said a district' nurse received almost 10 times more for a night call than did a general practitioner. “The private practitioner cannot continue to compete with the hospital system.”