Fine people who miss GP appointments, Britons say

THE majority of Britons support fines for people who miss GP and hospital appointments to boost NHS funding.

Adding fees for patients whose diseases are triggered by unhealthy lifestyles are also popular, a survey reveals.

Polling by Ipsos MORI shows four in five adults support a 4 per cent annual rise in funding over the next 15 years.

The figure is the amount that the Institute of Fiscal Studies says is required to keep pace with demand and make modest improvements.

Asked how funding should be raised, the poll of more than 1,000 adults found charges for missed GP and hospital appointments won most support, backed by 71 per cent of those polled.

Next on the list was “charging patients who have diseases and illnesses caused in some way by their lifestyle”, which was backed by 47 per cent.

Both were more popular than increases in national insurance (45 per cent) or in income tax (42 per cent), the polling commissioned by the NHS Confederation found.

Overall, 77 per cent of adults support a 4 per cent annual rise in funding that would see the total budget increase from £128billion to £234billion by 2033.

Theresa May has pledged 10 years of extra funding for the NHS, with the sums to be announced soon.

Jeremy Hunt has pushed for rises of 4 per cent a year, but the Treasury is reluctant to see major tax rises.

Mrs May said a “long-term” funding plan will be announced to help the GPS and hospitals better “cope with the rising demand”.

Minsters are also expected to publish a Green Paper on social care funding over the next few weeks.