1st February 2011

Royal College of General Practitioners Survey highlights GP concerns over NHS Reforms 

More than half of GPs responding to a snapshot survey carried out by the RCGP are concerned that the proposed health reforms will not lead to improvements in care for patients.

The poll, conducted via the online tool SurveyMonkey, shows that GPs are yet to be convinced that the reforms will improve patient care, enhance the relationship between GPs and consultants, or reduce bureaucracy in the NHS.

The College conducted the survey to add to its ongoing consultations with GPs on the health service reforms, and respondents were asked their views on four main areas:

  • GP Commissioning
  • Any Willing Provider
  • NHS Infrastructure
  • Direction of travel of reforms

The poll attracted more than 1,800 responses. Over 50% disagreed that the proposed model of GP commissioning would create a patient-led NHS. More than 70% of respondents said they disagreed- or strongly-disagreed that the concept of ‘Any Willing Provider’ would either achieve a patient-led NHS, or improve healthcare outcomes.

RCGP Chair Clare Gerada said:

“The RCGP is not opposed to NHS reform; we want to improve the NHS for our patients, and GPs want to see a clinician-led NHS that places patients at its very centre. However, these results highlight the continuing concerns many of our members have about the proposals outlined in the Health Bill.

 “This is a snapshot of what our members are thinking at the moment. These results show that a significant number of our members are keen to support GP-led commissioning; it is something the College, and GPs, have wanted for many years.
“However, our members are telling us that they are worried about the pace at which these reforms are being implemented, the danger of fragmentation of services, and the emphasis on competition, and they are not sure whether the proposals really will have the positive impact on patient care that is intended.

“Our members are also worried that time which could be spent caring for patients will be taken away to deal with budgeting and administration and that this will impact negatively on the quality and continuity of care our patients receive".

 “They worry about the financial pressures, and the competition culture of ‘Any Willing Provider’; and they fear that these reforms could cause irreparable and irreversible damage to the NHS."

“This is a straw poll, but I hope that these results will provide the Government with an insight into the very real concerns of general practitioners across England about the impact that these reforms could have on the health care and services we provide to our patients in the future.

 “The RCGP is mindful of its responsibility to ensure, irrespective of the concerns being expressed, that GPs are equipped with the skills and tools to engage in commissioning and to maintain high standards of care for patients. The new RCGP Centre for Commissioning has already recruited 50 commissioning champions from over 200 expressions of interest and is running a series of practical workshops on effective commissioning for GPs across England.

 “We will be working with the Government, and others, to address these concerns, and will be surveying our membership later in the year to see how things are shaping up, and to see whether these concerns remain valid.”

Source: The Royal College of General Practitioners

FURTHER INFORMATION
RCGP Press office – 020 3188 7576 / 7575
Out of hours: 07885 958 632
press@rcgp.org.uk

NOTES

The poll was conducted via SurveyMonkey and was open from 13/01/11 until 21/01/11. A link to the poll was sent out via the Chair’s weekly e-Newsletter to members, via the Seven Days bulletin, and via the Chair’s blog.

The poll comprised four questions, and in each respondents were given the following options: strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree, and strongly disagree. Respondents were also able to skip questions. As a result, counts for individual questions varied from 1,841 to 1,826 responses.