GPs are calling for a £25 charge for each appointment to cut demand in a move likened to the 5p cost for carrier bags.

Four in 10 GPs are calling for the move which they say would put patients off visiting and make their lives easier.

One doctor compared the fee to the plastic bag charge, which has led to an 86% drop in use of the bags at supermarkets.

But MPs and patient groups opposed the proposal, warning that it could leave people dying at home if they couldn’t afford the £25 fee.

The call was made in a poll of 984 family doctors by GP magazine Pulse, which found 41% are in favour of charging for NHS appointments.

The same percentage was also opposed to the charge and 18% said they did not know.

Doctors believe a charge would ease their workloads and send appointment numbers down

Those in favour of fees argued it would drive down demand, giving them more time with each patient and for admin.

One GP said: “Although I have previously opposed this, I now genuinely think that people don’t value healthcare services.

“We get numerous did not attends, as do the hospital.

“Charging 5p for a carrier bag has reduced the number of unnecessary carrier bags as people think twice.

“A nominal fee that makes people think about whether an appointment is genuinely needed or if they can access appropriate information in an alternate way might improve unnecessary workload.”

Another said: “I cannot think of any other way of stemming increasing and unreasonable demand other than some form of financial barrier.”

The call was made in a poll of 984 family doctors, which found 41% are in favour of charging for NHS appointments

And a third called for “a small, nominal fee that can be claimed back if on low income”.

They added: “It would make people realise primary care is a privilege and not unlimited, while not restricting access for those who need it.”

But others were vehemently against the move, with one saying: “We already charge people for their NHS care, through taxes.

“To charge again would be appalling. The poorest would get sicker.”

Liberal Democrat MP Norman Lamb, a former health minister, reacted to the call, telling The Sun: “Comparing a GP appointment to a carrier bag is really not helpful.

“Seeing a doctor may be a matter of life and death.

MPs and patient groups have opposed the proposal

“People on low incomes, possibly in debt, may decide not to visit their GP because of the cost and miss an early cancer diagnosis.

“Charging for a GP goes against the principle of care being free at the point of use and may amount to a tax on the sick.”

A doctor’s appointment typically costs the NHS around £25 but operations and drugs can cost thousands of pounds more.

Lucy Watson, from the Patients Association, said: “Charging patients for GP appointments would unequivocally be a backward step for the NHS.

“It would certainly lead to some patients needlessly suffering harm by not accessing GP care when they need it, because of fear of the cost.

“At the same time, up-front charges encourage wealthier people to treat healthcare as a consumer good and spend more on it.”