ID CARDS COULD CREATE A 'HEALTH UNDERCLASS', WARN LIB DEMS (Islington Liberal Democrats)

Islington Liberal Democrats <Islington_ld@cix.co.uk>

ID CARDS COULD CREATE A 'HEALTH UNDERCLASS', WARN LIB DEMS

August 8, 2005 11:33 AM

Identity cards could create a "health underclass", the Liberal Democrats have warned, following a speech by a Government Minister last week admitting that they had 'oversold' the benefits of ID cards.

Local Councillor Meral Ece fears that people without ID cards could be prevented from seeing NHS doctors except in emergencies, leading to increased pressure on hospital A&E services. It could also lead to contagious diseases going untreated.

The Home Office admitted last week that ID cards could become the recognised way to check people were eligible for the NHS. Home Office Minister Tony McNulty, who is overseeing the scheme, told a Fabian Society meeting: "Perhaps in the past the government, in its enthusiasm, oversold the advantages of identity cards. We did suggest, or at least implied, that they might well be a panacea for identity fraud, for benefit fraud, terrorism, entitlement and access to public services."

Cllr Ece, Executive Member for Health and Adult Social Services says: "If ID cards are used to check entitlement for public services, it could limit access to NHS services for many people, and make ID cards effectively compulsory.

"If people without ID cards, maybe because they can't afford them, feel they can't use the NHS for anything but an emergency, it could mean diseases such as TB go unchecked. Healthcare and treatment could end up being restricted to those who can afford ID cards, turning the clock back to before 1948 and the establishment of the NHS, when only those who could afford it received professional treatment for poor health and diseases.

"The money for the Government's flawed ID card plans would be far better spent on more police and better border controls. The Home Office should abandon their plans before they waste any more taxpayers' money."