Radical thinking is needed to cure the NHS after yet another warning that patients will have to wait a MONTH to see GP

Rethink NHS

ANOTHER day, another frightening NHS warning. A leading GP says people may wait a month to see a doctor this winter.

Dr Helen Stokes-Lampard tells of a service “skating on thin ice” that leaves her “profoundly concerned”.

And well she might be. While GPs are consumed with “firefighting” urgent cases, patients with minor or long-term complaints go to the back of the queue — with terrible consequences.

Illnesses missed or mismanaged will cost the NHS billions down the line. More importantly, they will cost lives.

The GPs crisis leapt up to bite us when A&Es became thronged with people unable to get an appointment. But it’s been years in the making.

The problem, as ever with the NHS, is money. So why not look at more inventive ways of easing the burden?

People who can afford it could be asked to pay a small charge to see their GP. Or if you miss an appointment for no good reason you might face a fine.

After all, we’ve lived with prescription charges for nearly half a century.

These ideas may bring predictable howls of “privatisation” from politicians who like to boast that the NHS will always be free at the point of use. But it isn’t free ­— we all have to pay for it.

The current system is untenable. It’s time for a no-holds-barred debate on how the NHS is funded.

Radical thinking is needed. Before the untenable becomes the incurable.

Jezz get it done!

WHEN will Jeremy Hunt actually do what he has promised on hospital parking?

Despite the Health Secretary’s pledge to stop rip-off charges, trusts are raking in more than ever.

Hospitals in England took £120million in a year — up five per cent.

And that’s just in the 89 health trusts who denied to respond to a freedom of information request.

A further 31 did not reveal their figures so the real total is likely to be much higher.

Visiting a sick loved one is traumatic enough without being financially fleeced on top of everything.

It’s time for a remedy, Mr Hunt.

The rogue one

CARRIE Fisher was never the world’s greatest actress.

“A lot of it was just running down corridors,” she said of the Star Wars role that brought her unwanted fame.

But Carrie became one of the world’s most beloved stars. Her flaws — the unhappy childhood, the car-crash life-style, the struggles with mental illness — only endeared her to millions.

And beyond Princess Leia she emerged as a brilliant writer.

She was also grounded enough to expose all showbiz fakery to heaps of hilarious, bitingly honest comedy.

Thanks, Carrie. The Force was with you.