The leader of Britain's 43,000 GPs has accused the Government of being "infatuated" with the private...
The leader of Britain's 43,000 GPs has accused the Government of being "infatuated" with the private healthcare sector and has questioned its proposals to involve private firms in providing primary care.
Dr Hamish Meldrum, chairman of the British Medical Association's General Practitioners Committee, said the Government is in a "headlong rush to create more private sector provision of NHS care." Stressing that he does not reject private sector involvement, Meldrum urged the Government to consider: "What are the problems to which private sector provision is the answer? Will it really improve capacity in the NHS? Will it make the NHS more efficient? Will it solve the workforce problems in the NHS? Is it value for money? Will it provide better services for patients? Where is the evidence?" Despite declaring that NHS GPs had little to fear from the private primary care providers, Meldrum asked: "If private sector provision is so wonderful, so efficient, so effective, why does it have to be given such a significant financial leg up? Even more particularly, where is the evidence that it will improve rather than destabilise our present system of general practice?" Accounts for 2004-2005 showed that that the NHS ran up a £140m deficit last year.
As many as one in five NHS bodies exceeded their budget to create the first overspend in four years.
The report by the National Audit Office and Audit Commission revealed that 106 NHS bodies had gone into the red.
The £140m deficit represents a sharp contrast from the shrewd book-keeping of the previous financial year.
Although a number of NHS trusts overspent in 2003-2004, total spending in the service was £72m under budget.
