GP commissioner survey finds support for increased competition: Almost nine in 10 likely to ban or limit some treatments and 50% likely to make greater use of alternative providers
Leaders of the GP commissioning groups that were created under the government's NHS reforms would limit treatments to patients and favour increasing competition from private companies, and a substantial minority advocate closing accident and emergency departments, a poll reveals.
The survey by the Health Service Journal of 116 board members of the new commissioning groups in the English NHS found that four-fifths were concerned that "political opposition to service change" would be a barrier to them making significant improvements to services in the next year.
Almost nine in 10 said they were likely to ban or limit some treatments they did not think were "clinically justified" in the next year. More than a quarter said they were likely to carry out a major service reconfiguration, including downgrading or closing an A&E unit, in the next year.
In a sign that the GP groups are more pro-market than previous NHS structures, 50% of respondents said they were likely to make greater use of alternative providers and increased competition.
The Guardian
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph