Is the government serious about GP commissioning, asks NHS Alliance

Members of the NHS Alliance have questioned whether the government is serious about handing over control to GPs, saying that the decisions within the NHS need to be made in the consultation room, not the Department for Health headquarters.

Dr Michael Dixon, chairman of the NHS Alliance, said: “There was a feeling amongst those present that the current rhetoric was good. However, they also said they had seen good rhetoric in the past and now need to be reassured that this time it is different, that it would not be the same old people at the top doing the same old things and then hanging GPs and practices out to dry as scapegoats for a failed system.”

He added: “For those leading the NHS, the onus will be to show that they are really listening and including those who will need to lead the change rather than simply selecting ‘their own people’ to dilute radical wholesale change. GPs and practices, apparently, are not yet convinced this is real rather than cosmetic. Is it a revolution or simply another version of a top heavy NHS that doesn't want to lose its grip?”