Discouraging health access
There is already evidence that people have been adversely affected by the charging scheme since 2004 and we fear that further guidance and enforcement of this regime will create further complications and problems. We believe the following issues will continue and are more likely to escalate:
Charging new mothers for their antenatal or postnatal care is likely to discourage them from engaging with other healthcare services for fear of incurring further charges.
• Women who require a termination of pregnancy are chargeable under the current and proposed regime. Charging for terminations of pregnancies will put women under pressure to seek alternative, cheaper and illegal means of terminations.
• Charging women for termination of pregnancies is likely to encourage them to seek alternative methods of abortion.
• To ensure good public health, health services must be easy and free to access. The policies impact on the public health at large and any public health initiatives in place.
• Those who are suffering from mental health issues are at risk of disengaging with services if they incur charges putting themselves and others risk. This will only have a negative impact on the healthcare system too as there is a greater cost incurred when having to section or admit someone in a crisis.
• Under the current guidance, patients have already been turned away from diagnostic tests because the administrative staff do not deem it ‘immediately necessary’. This has meant that patients have been turned away from receiving essential tests to investigate a potentially life-threatening illness.
