Doctors sceptical about NHS reform plans

25 Oct 10
Only a quarter of doctors believe the government's proposed reforms to the NHS will improve patient care, according to a survey published today

By Lucy Phillips

25 October 2010

Only a quarter of doctors believe the government’s proposed reforms to the NHS will improve patient care, according to a survey published today.

The poll of 500 GPs and 500 hospital doctors also found that only 22% believe the health service will be able to keep improving efficiency while implementing the planned changes.

The research was conducted by the King’s Fund and Doctors.net.uk shortly after the consultation on the government’s health white paper, Equityand excellence: liberating the NHS, closed on October 11.

Among the reforms proposed by the government are giving GPs responsibility for commissioning health care, abolishing strategic health authorities and primary care trusts, and transferring responsibility for public health to local government.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said the reforms were aimed at improving the quality of patient care and empowering both patients and doctors. He has emphasised that they must be achieved while the NHS seeks to find £20bn efficiency savings by 2015.   

Today’s survey, called Impactof the health white paper: what do doctors think?, also found that only a quarter of doctors believed that giving local authorities responsibility for public health would make it easier to tackle major health issues. 

Anna Dixon, director of policy at the King’s Fund, said the findings highlighted ‘significant scepticism among doctors about the government’s proposals and shows that ministers have a lot of work to do to convince them that the reforms will improve patient care’.

More positively, according to the survey, over 60% of GPs said there were doctors in their area with the capacity to lead GP commissioning consortiums.

Tim Ringrose, managing director of medical communities at Doctors.net.uk, added: ‘Clear, consistent communication with doctors about how the principles of these reforms translate into the reality of clinical practice should be a top priority for Andrew Lansley.’

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