"You cannot pay for NHS services" is almost a tautology, since whether a service is NHS or not is defined by who pays. You certainly used to be able to pay for

"You cannot pay for NHS services" is almost a tautology, since whether a service is NHS or not is defined by who pays. You certainly used to be able to pay for services carried out in NHS facilities using NHS equipment, generally outside the hours the NHS was willing to pay to run them. You can pay to see people privately who also work for the NHS too.