Doctors hopping onto the rip-off wagon

You frequently publish letters complaining about overcharging. Most of these concern tourism, the cost of meals, coffee and rogue taxi drivers. I now have a more serious example of overcharging.

My wife and I have lived here for 20 years and have used a well-regarded private hospital since it first opened. My wife requires a six monthly repeat prescription for a not particularly serious ailment, so we visited her usual doctor.

He willingly wrote the prescription then asked for a €40 consultation fee. There had been no consultation nor any re-examination. The whole visit took no more than a couple of minutes and merely consisted of the doctor writing the prescription.

If this  level of charging is normal practice I can only condemn it.
 
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