CONCERNS have been raised that patients could soon have to pay for same-day GP appointments.

Some doctors this week began offering 30-minute consultations and their mobile phone number to patients — for a £1,200 annual fee.

More than 30 GPs in London and Hertfordshire have joined the Concierge Choice UK private scheme, which allows patients to select their doctor and request same-day appointments.

Scheme members will also receive annual health checks, as well as blood and urine tests.

Some will also get home visits if required.

One Sefton resident said: “This makes my blood boil.

“This is not what NHS doctors should be doing. If you want private patients, work privately.”

Dr Mark Sweeney, the Knightsbridge GP who founded the scheme, told the Evening Standard he believed it would appeal to patients with chronic conditions who would benefit from longer consultations.

He said it would also prove attractive to people who smoke, or are overweight, but want long-term goals to improve their health, and to families.

The NHS’s annual GP Patient Survey 2018 found that 24 per cent of people had to wait a week or more for an appointment.

Could Merseyside GPs follow suit?

NHS rules allow GPs to generate a proportion of their income from non-NHS work, including private care.

This means it’s down to individual GPs to decide whether they want to take on any kind of private work.

But Dr Rob Barnett, who works as a GP in Liverpool and is also the secretary of Liverpool Local Medical Committee, says private GP appointments are not the answer.

He said: “There has always been a demand for privately offered services and patients can opt to see a GP privately if they so wish.

“However, anyone going down that route needs to understand any tests, investigations, referrals or further treatment would then come at an additional cost.

“I don’t believe [private GP appointments] are the answer to our problems, we need to have an adequately-funded and adequately-staffed NHS GP service

“My fear would be if more and more people decide to go down a private route, then actually, we will destroy the NHS service.”