Nigel Farage has been accused of planning to “decimate” the NHS after he called for changes to the way it is funded.
The Reform UK leader suggested he wanted to see some form of means-testing rather than the universal model which has been in place for nearly 80 years.
That could see patients being charged for some procedures instead of the NHS being free at the point of use.
Farage told The Times: “We’ve got to identify a system of funding for healthcare that is more effective than the one we have currently got, and at the same time carries those who can’t afford to pay.”
But his remarks have been condemned by Labour, who said such a scheme would herald the end of the NHS as we know it.
A spokesperson for the party told HuffPost UK: “Nigel Farage has made it clear he wants to decimate the health service and see people charged thousands for operations.
“That might work for him and his multi-millionaire deputy, but it would see working people unable to afford vital treatments and end the proud history of the NHS offering care free at the point of use.
“This Labour government is delivering on our plan for change to cut waiting lists and get the NHS back on its feet. We mustn’t let a Tory-Reform coalition of chaos put that at risk.”
Former Labour frontbencher Jon Ashworth, now chief executive of the Labour Together think-tank, said Farage’s plans would see doctors having to “check your purse before your pulse”.
Writing in the Sunday Mirror, he said: “Could you afford £3,243 for cataract treatment? Or how about £12,500 for a hip replacement?
“Maybe you don’t have the cash so you would need to put £13,625 on a credit card or take out a loan for knee surgery?
These are eye watering amounts. Unaffordable for so many apart from a lucky few. But it’s Nigel Farage’s shocking plan for the NHS.”