GP Contract Should Reflect Clinicians' Leadership Role

Main Category: Primary Care / General Practice
Article Date: 04 Dec 2009 - 2:00 PDT

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The GP contract fails to recognise GPs' increased role and responsibilities, says the NHS Alliance.

GPs should be encouraged to take a leadership role within the NHS, being responsible not only for individual consultations but also for the practice's population health. Many good practices up and down the country already take their public health role seriously, but this is not recognised in the contract.

As part of this wider role, the contract should ensure that GPs are also accountable for watching their spend by actively managing referrals, prescribing and investigations in the most cost-effective way.

Dr Michael Dixon, chairman of the NHS Alliance, said: "The role of the GP is changing and the contract needs to reflect that. Doctors should be seen as a public health physician for the whole of the practice population. Indeed, this would be the realisation of the potential of the registered list with an extended role in self help, personal health and community health."

He added: "Practices that spend most are not necessarily doing more for their patients and GPs should be tasked with using NHS resources in the most efficient manner. At the same time, GPs should not be penalized if their local circumstances do not allow them to be as efficient with spending as they would like. But it is important they are committed to doing so."

Source
The NHS Alliance

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