Most GPs sceptical of NHS overhaul's benefits

MOST GPs are sceptical that the Government's planned overhaul of the NHS will benefit patients, a poll has found.

The BBC survey of 827 doctors found fewer than one in four think putting GPs in charge of the health service budget will lead to improvements.

Just 23 per cent said the reforms would benefit patients, with 45 per cent saying they would not and 32 per cent expressing no opinion.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Meanwhile, just 25 per cent of doctors said they would be willing to take on the extra responsibility of planning and buying in services, with 57 per cent saying they would not do it and 18 per cent expressing no opinion.

GPs also expressed doubts about becoming so closely involved in commissioning in specialist areas such as cancer and paediatrics.

The poll comes as Health Secretary Andrew Lansley faces mounting criticism over his shake-up of the NHS amid fears the plans could jeopardise NHS finances.

Under the plans, groups of GPs will control NHS budgets worth 80bn and commission services from 2013.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

NHS trusts, which manage the cash at the moment, will be abolished.

The Royal College of GPs, which is holding its annual conference in Harrogate, has questioned the speed and cost of the plans and warned of a possible “erosion of the crucial relationship” between doctors and patients.

It has also pointed to “grave” concerns about the use of private companies to run NHS services and the “loss” of expertise in existing NHS trusts.

The Government’s White Paper has also sparked concern at the Royal College of Nursing, the British Medical Association and other health unions.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mr Lansley said: “The survey is deeply flawed. It does not reflect the Government’s policy proposals for GP commissioning and therefore cannot provide a genuine perspective of GPs’ views on the plans.