GP fees rise amid Minister's cost cut plans

Monday 17 April 2023

The cost of seeing a doctor has risen to at least £60 at a number of local practices - amid ongoing talks between the Social Security Minister, and the Primary Care Body, to get the price down.

Last month, Deputy Elaine Millar announced that she was looking to reduce the £50 cost to Islanders of seeing a doctor.

However, this month, the standard fee for GP consultations at a number of medical practices rose, with the Island Medical Centre increasing prices from £54.50 to £64 on 1 April while the HealthPlus and CastleQuay surgeries now charge £60. 

Dr Ed Klaber, a board member of the Primary Care Body, which represents the island's GP's, and a GP at HealthPlus said: "The meeting where we discuss prices is the most unpleasant meeting we have, we'd absolutely love not to have it."

Pictured: The cost of a GP appointment at the Island Medical Centre is now £64.

Last month, Deputy Millar said that visiting a GP could become cheaper amid ongoing talks with the Primary Care body. 

On March 10, she told the JEP: "Everyone should be able to access their GP and I am committed to launching a plan that will give all Islanders a reduced cost for their appointments.

"My team are in discussion with GPs on the best and quickest way to make this happen and I look forward to sharing more details very soon."

When Deputy Miller made this comment, a GP fee cost £50.

Pictured: In March, Social Security Minister Deputy Elaine Millar said that visiting a GP could become cheaper as soon as April.

Offering an explanation as to why prices needed to increase, Dr Klaber said: "It's everything. Rent, electricity, heating. We provided our non-doctor staff with pay rises to meet the rising cost of living, our cleaning bill has gone up massively and a doctor's surgery is obviously the kind of place where you want really exceptional cleaning.

"It'll be the same in most practices. It's just like any business, its cost of living stuff." 

Dr Chris Sprent, Practice Manager at the Island Medical Centre, added: "Our rent is raised every year, and the rent we pay for this place is humungous. There are substantial costs involved in running this surgery, and they all go up. £60 is a lot of money, but we have to pay a lot of wages, a lot of rent." 

He added that the Island Medical Centre held out for as long as they could but that they had seen "a year of rapid price rises".

The continually rising cost of living is not just forcing prices to rise, but also deterring recruitment. Dr Klaber said: "We're struggling to attract people to be GP's in Jersey because we just can't pay them enough.

Pictured: "It's just like any business, its cost of living stuff." 

"This price rise is simply to meet inflation. Even though the UK is a pretty unpleasant place to be a doctor right now, they're still choosing to stay." 

The worry that such high fees will deter people from seeking medical attention is of concern to GP's. 

Dr Klaber said: “We absolutely do not want cost to be a barrier to people seeking healthcare and those concerned about their health. This is why we continually urge the government to support the cost of seeing a doctor particularly for those most financially vulnerable.” 

He added: "It will take significant investment from the government to make a difference." 

The Government does currently subsidise the cost of GP appointments; with surgeries currently receiving a rebate of £20 per appointment from the Health Insurance Fund. Moreover, anyone on income support can attend a GP appointment for the cost of £12 as part of the Health Access Scheme. 

However the rebate of £20 has not changed since its conception in 2012. In 2012, this subsidy was roughly half of the cost of a GP appointment. 

Pictured: “We absolutely do not want cost to be a barrier to people seeking healthcare and those concerned about their health."

According to Dr Klaber, GP's have been in conversation with the government about how they may be able to support fees for patients seeing the GP. However, he does not believe anything has yet been agreed. 

Deputy Rob Ward, Chair of the Health and Social Security Scrutiny Panel, said: "It makes sense to spend money on GP fees, the earlier you deal with it, the better the outcome is. Primary care is the key to good care on the Island, and GP's are the main source of primary care." 

In December, the States Assembly narrowly voted for an amendment to the Government Plan, submitted by Reform Deputy Carina Alves to support the proposition to allocate £800,000 in funding so that visits to the family doctor would be free-of-charge for all under 18s.

Deputy Geoff Southern said: "Ultimately, we can't carry on with such high GP fees. We can't afford it. We have to bite the bullet and say what's our tax actually for...if we can't provide a decent healthcare service for our people, we are failing as a Government...If we fail in this, we are failing our voters."