GPs urge Government to delay commissioning

The Royal College of General Practitioners has urged Andrew Lansley to put back his plans for GP commissioning, after the biggest survey of GPs to date showed fierce opposition, says the GP magazine 'Pulse'.
In a major blow to the health secretary, a college report said its consultation of members, which will result in a formal response to the Government, had unearthed ‘major concerns’ and called for the time frame for the reforms to be extended.

It warned plans for GP consortia to replace Primary Care Trusts risked destabilising the NHS, and could swamp practices with extra workload and take clinicians away from the front line, while opening the door to the private sector.

There were widespread fears the moves to set up commissioning groups across the country would increase health inequalities.

 ‘GPs will be seen as the purse-holders: this could reduce public trust and decrease their ability to advocate for patients, and they will be blamed for failures and cuts in services,’ it said.

Many GPs felt they lacked the time, skills and capacity for commissioning and felt ‘the reforms open a door to increased involvement of the for-profit private sector’ and could even lead to the ‘break-up of the NHS’.

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