Charge £10 for A&E visits, say a third of GPs: Doctors want to impose basic fee to deter patients turning up with 'trivial' complaints Survey GPs believe patients go to A&E at the 'drop of the hat' But findings will prompt anger among members of the public Many feel they have no choice but to go to casualty A third of GPs say patients should be charged for going to A&E, according to a poll. They want to impose a basic fee of up to £10 a time to deter the public from turning up with 'trivial' complaints. A survey of 800 family doctors found that many believe patients are going to A&E at the 'drop of the hat' because they can't be bothered to wait for an appointment. But the findings will prompt anger among members of the public who feel they have no choice but to go to casualty because they can't see their GP - especially at evenings and weekends. (File picture) A survey has found many GPs believe some patients go to A&E at the 'drop of the hat' The poll by doctors.net.uk found that 32 per cent of GPs were in favour of A&E charges. One doctor said: 'Charging even a nominal fee of about £10 for each attendance will probably cut the attendances by half.' Another argued: 'If patients had to pay a £5 charge to attend A&E - that could be refunded for appropriate attendances - they would be more inclined to take their coughs to the pharmacist where they belong.' Meanwhile, GPs have been warned that surgeries could be shut down after closing early without permission during the festive period. Hundreds of practices are suspected of shutting early on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve despite being paid to stay open until 6.30pm. NHS officials have sent warning notices to several surgeries over concerns that patients may have ended up in overstretched A&E units after doctors went home early. NHS England - which runs the health service - rang round 238 surgeries in London on Christmas Eve between 3.30pm and 6.30pm and found 5 per cent were closed. They did not contact all 8,000 surgeries in England, but if the percentages are broadly similar, as many as 400 surgeries may have closed early. The poll by doctors.net.uk found that 32 per cent of GPs were in favour of A&E charges Commenting on the medical news website Pulse, which uncovered the story, some GPs argued that it was a 'waste of time' keeping surgeries open on Christmas and New Year's Eve as they are traditionally so quiet. Dr Peter Swinyard, a GP in Swindon, Wiltshire, who is chairman of the Family Doctor Association, wrote: 'What a complete farce. The number of calls after 3.30pm on Christmas Eve is always vanishingly small. A spokesman said: 'We undertook this exercise because we wanted to ensure that patients in London had access to the primary care services that they are entitled to.' He said closing times were 'non-negotiable' and that the period could be the sole chance some patients had to pick up vital medication.