Former health-secretary Sajid Javid has urged what he describes as an unsustainable NHS to charge patients for GP and A&E appointments. The former health secretary wants to see a “grown-up, hard-headed conversation” about reforming the NHS. In a recent op-ed for the Times, Javid said that “extending the contributory principle” should be included in radical reforms to tackle high waiting times. According to NHS data, a record number of patients in England waited more than 12 hours in A&E at the end of last year.