New Tory plans to pay 60 per cent of private health care costs
The Conservative Party will unveil detailed proposals for “patient passports” at its annual conference on Monday.
The scheme would allow patients to claim up to 60 per cent of their private healthcare bills and patients would be able to choose the hospital they would like to be treated at.
Tory health spokesman Dr Liam Fox is also expected to unveil plans for “dismantling” the Department of Health and create an independent board in its place.
Dr Fox the Today programme: “Whenever there is a by-election or a local election, suddenly politicians find the money for a new hospital they can bribe the voters with. I want to take that power away from politicians.”
The Conservative Party is pledging to improve the NHS, while also promising lower taxes, if elected.
Dr Fox is likely to attack Labour’s record on health and propose to cut bureaucracy across the NHS.
He is also expected to highlight the rate of deaths caused by infections acquired in hospital and insist that the Tory scheme would not be dependent on waiting times.
“At the moment you can only exercise that sort of choice between the NHS and another system if you are able to pay twice – if you are able to pay all your taxes and the full cost of private treatment,” Dr Fox said.
Meanwhile, Conservative Party chairman Theresa May has rallied behind Mr Duncan Smith ahead of the Blackpool conference, saying that he could be the next Prime Minister and insisting that the public are more interested in policies than internal divisions.
Newspapers have been full of reports from unnamed Tory MPs and activists questioning Mr Duncan Smith’s leadership of the party and recent polls have seen the Tories falling in popularity against the Liberal Democrats.
However, Mr Duncan Smith insisted today “I am up to this job” and appears determined to continue to lead the party.
