Health Secretary authorises NHS Top-Ups
Patients who choose to top-up their existing care will no longer be denied treatment on the NHS, following the Secretary of State for Health’s complete adoption of the recommendations laid out in the Richards Review.
The Review, presented to Parliament by Alan Johnson this afternoon, outlined a number of recommendations around clarifying the issue of whether patients could opt to buy drugs not approved by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) in addition to their treatment.
The Richards Review declared: "… where a patient opts to pay for private care, their entitlement to NHS services remain and may not be withdrawn."
However, it added: "… in order to ensure that there is no risk of the NHS subsidising private care: it should always be clear whether an individual procedure or treatment is privately funded or NHS funded; private and NHS care should be kept as clearly separate as possible; private care should be carried out at a different time and place…; this guidance applies to additional private healthcare that patients receive over and above their NHS care. It does not permit a ‘pick and mix’ approach where patients can pay to upgrade any individual elements of their NHS care."
Cover Magazine: 04 November 08
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