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Patients Association - NHS England to drop 'cash for dementia diagnoses' scheme
Patients Association welcomes the scrapping of “bounty” on the head of dementia patients at the end of March
Katherine Murphy, Chief Executive of the Patients Association, today recently welcomed news that plans to pay GPs a £55 bonus to diagnose dementia patients are to be dropped at the end of March, but said the scheme should never have been started in the first place.
“We are glad NHS England has finally listened to the voices of patients and the vast majority of GPs and decided to end this badly thought out scheme – but it should never have been started in the first place.
“Good GPs don’t need to be bribed to do their job – and poor ones should not profit from bonuses for doing what they should be doing anyway. Such schemes undermine the trust between doctors and patients.”
Katherine Murphy added: “There are still likely to be patients between now and March who will be worried about whether financial considerations are affecting the judgment of GPs in diagnosing dementia. This scheme has been a distortion of good medical care and should never be repeated.”
Notes for Editors
- The Patients Association is a campaigning charity, listening to patients and speaking up for change. It has been working for over 50 years to make sure that the patient voice is heard and listened to by policy makers.
- For further information please contact the Patients Association on 02084239111 or on yolande@patients-association.com
To see more information on the Patients Association visit www.patients-association.com
