GPs could be asked to authorise financial help for patients struggling with their fuel bills, it has been reported.

The proposal was immediately rejected by the British Medical Association, which said doctors do not have the time or the skill to assess hundreds of requests for help. The idea is being considered by the favourite to be next Prime Minister, Liz Truss, the Sun on Sunday reported.

Ms Truss said the government had to make sure “life is affordable for people” but she added: “But what’s wrong is to reach first for the handout before you’ve addressed the root cause of a problem.” The proposal came after the NHS Confederation, representing senior NHS managers, issued its own warning about the impact of soaring energy prices on the nation’s health.

But Dr David Wrigley, deputy chair of the BMA’s England GP committee, said: “We completely reject any suggestion that GPs do this work. They do not have the time or the skills to do the work of the welfare system.
“In these next few months GPs already have to worry about delivering the COVID and flu vaccination programmes that will be necessary to see the NHS through the winter, on top of their daily crushing workload and the enormous COVID backlog we now see. At a time when GPs are already overwhelmed with the greatest workforce crisis and longest waiting lists in memory, this addition to their workload would be totally unacceptable. It beggars belief that government ministers think it is appropriate to suggest GPs undertake it.
“The government has not discussed this with us in any form – floating these sorts of proposals via the media is deeply unprofessional.”

A Government source said the idea was “a long way off completion”. A spokesperson added: “We are making necessary preparations to ensure a new government will have options to deliver additional support as quickly as possible.”

Earlier NHS Confederation chief executive Matthew Taylor said: “Many people could face the awful choice between skipping meals to heat their homes and having to live in in cold, damp and very unpleasant conditions. This in turn could lead to outbreaks of illness and sickness around the country and widen health inequalities, worsen children’s life chances and leave an indelible scar on local communities. These outbreaks will strike just as the NHS is likely to experience the most difficult winter on record. NHS leaders have made this unprecedented intervention as they know that fuel poverty will inevitably lead to significant extra demand on what are already very fragile services. Health leaders are clear that unless urgent action is taken by the government this will cause a public health emergency.”