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Government to bribe GPs

Gulliver | 24.01.2006 09:31 | Health

I had always understood that when my GP was making an assessment of any illness I presented, he would base his judgement on his medical skills and experience. Under new government proposals this may no longer be the case.

Work and Pensions Secretary John Hutton has confirmed that under new proposals to save money, GPs may be offered cash incentives to encourage patients on Incapacity Benefit back to work. This is an outrageous idea. No matter how professional a GP attempts to be one cannot avoid the fear that decisions will be influenced by such financial incentives, if only subconsciously, in a cash-strapped GP’s surgery.

I await with little optimism a balancing proposal that accountants will be provided with cash incentives to discourage high earners and ‘captains of industry’ from using tax avoidance techniques to avoid paying moneys, which could help those in need.

Gulliver

Additions

More information

24.01.2006 16:36

Previous Indymedia articles on Welfare Reform:

Welfare Reform to be extremely severe
 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/01/331755.html

Sick and disabled targeted in benefit reforms
 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/sheffield/2005/12/330617.html

Meeting on incapacity benefit reform
 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2005/11/328334.html

More relating the 'New Deal for welfare: empowering people to work' can be found here:

The press statement from the Department for Work and Pensions:
 http://www.gnn.gov.uk/Content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=185191&NewsAreaID=2
 http://www.dwp.gov.uk/mediacentre/pressreleases/2006/jan/fmc068-240106.asp

Download the documents:
 http://www.gnn.gov.uk/imagelibrary/downloadMedia.asp?MediaDetailsID=144791

Department for Work and Pensions:
 http://www.dwp.gov.uk/

Press Releases on Welfare Reform:
2005:  http://www.dwp.gov.uk/mediacentre/pressreleases/2005/welfare-reform/
2006:  http://www.dwp.gov.uk/mediacentre/pressreleases/2006/welfare-reform/

Speech by John Hutton on 16th January 2006:
The Active Welfare State: Matching Rights with Responsibilities:
 http://www.dwp.gov.uk/aboutus/2006/16_01_06.asp

Wikipedia on the Welfare State:
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welfare_state

Charles


Comments

Display the following 3 comments

  1. Hear hear — iconoclast
  2. general practitioners face fundamental conflict of interest — Douglas Carnall
  3. Back into what work ? — Danny