NHS chiefs in Scotland discuss having wealthy pay for treatment

NHS leaders in Scotland have discussed abandoning the founding principles of the service by having the wealthy pay for treatment.

The discussion of a "two-tier" health service is mentioned in draft minutes of a meeting of NHS Scotland health board chief executives in September.

They also raise the possibility of curtailing some free prescriptions.

Scotland's Health Secretary Humza Yousaf insisted the NHS would stay publicly owned and publicly operated.

He added that health services "must always" be based on individual patient need and "any suggestion" that it should be about the ability to pay was "abhorrent".

The minutes of the meeting seen by BBC News are marked "in confidence not for onward sharing" and highlight the degree of official concern about the sustainability of Scotland's NHS in its present form.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-63659754

Why would the Tories do this?