NHS charges: Hughes-Hallett on paying for health services

The NHS is heading for a breakdown if people expect it carry on providing all services for free under increasing demand, the former head of Marie Curie Cancer Care has warned.

Sir Thomas Hughes-Hallett gave his view of how to keep the NHS on the road, saying it should - like a a garage - charge "for extras".

He said people "need a sat-nav" to point them towards chemists or community support centres and "steer them away from the NHS when they don't need it".

He said people should treat their bodies like a car, with a regular MOT, and that "we need to take more responsibility for our own health".

And Sir Thomas, a trustee of the King's Fund, and chair of the Institute of Global Health Innovation predicted: "We need to make tough choices for now about what we really need for free".

Sir Thomas will be a guest on Wednesday's Daily Politics around 12:40 GMT and will debate his film with Conservative MP Alan Duncan and Labour MP Vernon Coaker

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