GPs to get more powers under NHS shake-up.
In a Government white paper due to be published next week will outline the most radical shake-up in the NHS since its creation in 1948. Under ministerial plans GP practices are to be given responsibility for most health services. Health Secretary Andrew Lansley believes “GPs are best placed to understand patients needs and to decide where the money should be spent.”
Under this proposal local trusts and strategic health authorities would be scaled back in order to make way for the new role of GPs. However there are concerns that GPs may not have the skills to take on this new role. Others have questioned how they will be held accountable under this proposed shake-up. Under the proposed white paper, GPs will be involved in setting up groups of practices where they would work together to buy the management skills necessary to deliver local services. These groups of practices/consortiums will be responsible for billions of pounds of funds for mental health, hospital and community services.
With a current NHS annual budget of £100bn a year, about 80% of this is to be handed over to the health managers working for 152 primary care trusts. This then allows them to commission the services they feel necessary for their areas.Despite the governments promise to protect the NHS budget, the health service has been told to save up to £20bn by 2014 in order to cope with rising obesity as lifestyles change, an increasing ageing population and the rising prices of drugs.
The Royal College of Nursing has claimed that almost 10,000 posts – double the number from two months ago – are being cut, despite promises by the government to protect frontline services. Nigel Edwards, the acting chief executive of the NHS Confederation said, “there were some quite significant risks in transition to the new system. Obviously it is going to take time to implement this and the PCTs at the moment are the people who keep the lid on the performance and financial management of the system.” He also said, “the reform would move the NHS from a market where large organisations place big contracts, to one similar to the gas or telecoms market, where demand is shaped by many individual decisions. I think the concept here is lots of individual decisions by GPs – when they make referrals and send people to hospital – will be added up and we will have a greater market dynamic.
GPs will also help plan services and direct strategy for hospitals by telling hospitals what they need for the longer term. He expects many GPs to recruit former staff from PCTs to help them cope with the additional workload, which will involve quite a big step up from what they’ve been doing before.” Dr Mike Dixon, chairman of the NHS Alliance, a group of doctors who support GPs getting involved in commissioning said, “staff on the front-line know what is good care and what is bad care. They are more sensitive to the needs of patients and I think this will lead to better outcomes.”
He added, “in recent speeches, the Health Secretary has set out the values and vision for an NHS centred on patients. He has already emphasised the need to liberate the NHS to focus on outcomes and improving results for patients. And in a speech to the BMA on 2 July, he highlighted the importance of empowering doctors and nurses in the NHS to deliver quality standards and services. The details of how this vision will take effect will be set up soon.”A spokesman for the Department of Health said, “details of its plans for a patient-centred NHS would be published in a white paper shortly.” In light of the government’s white paper, GPs face major changes in how they plan and provide health care to patients within their communities. With this change in structure, previous roles of NHS trusts will now be carried out by GP consortiums with the added need to get on board professionals who are able to deliver to the new structure.
With this change in structure, MPP Locums is ideally placed to provide general and specialist locum doctor jobs for NHS trusts and the proposed new GP consortiums throughout the UK. MPP Locums ensures that all doctors are vigorously checked before being placed in key roles and provide quality professional staff to our clients.
MPP Locums is regulated by the Care Quality Commission and Buying Solutions. MPP Locums is an approved supplier of locum jobs to the NHS under the new National Locum contract starting 1st July 2008 for the next 3 years.To be part of the UK’s largest and fastest growing medical recruitment agencies, contact our registration team by telephone or register online.