Star comment: Fees for drunks at A&E may be costly to service

"I'm not a police officer. I'm a doctor. And you're in hospital."

Stand by for this little scenario cropping up in Britain's hospitals. We can call it the Hunt Plan.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt says he has a great deal of sympathy for the idea of charging drunks for their treatment if they end up in accident and emergency units. People should be made to take responsibility for their actions, he feels.

Superficially it looks an attractive idea. Nobody likes boorish drunks who through their own avoidable excesses clog up A&E late at night, delaying the treatment of other patients, and making life difficult for staff, who in some cases are either threatened or assaulted by the drunks or the excitable and equally drunk friends who so often accompany them.

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Mr Hunt makes the point about taxpayers having to fund the treatment of these people when the NHS resources are limited.

Step back though, for a moment, and consider the trajectory of this line of thinking. If people who drink too much should pay, why shouldn't those who eat too much and end up with conditions directly related to being overweight?

Smokers cost the NHS money. Hit smokers with a fee every time they are treated for some smoking-related ailment, and at least some of that money would be clawed back.

And what about those who go out at weekends playing football and rugby, risking cuts, bruises, or broken bones, not to mention those who take part in extreme sports like bungee jumping and skydiving?

There are so many people who could be caught in a charging net that it would mean that for all intents and purposes the NHS would stop being a free service, although in fact the people indulging in these activities are, by and large, already paying through their taxes.

Back to the specific idea of charging drunks. Just how drunk would they have to be before they were given an NHS treatment bill?

Who would administer the breath test and on what authority? And what if they were drunk, but had been mugged? Would they still be liable to pay?

This is an idea which undoubtedly will have appeal.

However, there are a whole host of practical considerations which mean that it could actually add to the burdens of hospital staff.