GP leaders have expressed “alarm” at the idea of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) co-commissioning primary care.
Delegates at the Local Medical Committee (LMC) conference said the move would create “unacceptable” conflicts of interest.
The motion proposed that the British Medical Association’s GP Committee should petition NHS England and the Department of Health to learn from the problems of primary care trusts (PCTs).
GP leaders have expressed “alarm” at the idea of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) co-commissioning primary care.
Delegates at the Local Medical Committee (LMC) conference said the move would create “unacceptable” conflicts of interest.
The motion proposed that the British Medical Association’s GP Committee should petition NHS England and the Department of Health to learn from the problems of primary care trusts (PCTs).
Dr Aneel Bikhu from Nottinghamshire LMC, who proposed the motion, said: “We should urge the Secretary of State, and the NHS’s new chief executive, to pause for a moment to consider the lessons of history and allow CCGs to continue their work in their present form, without the distraction and potential cause of future conflict that co-commissioning of GP contracts represents.”
However, the NHS Clinical Commissioners (NHSCC) membership group argued suggestions that co-commissioning is a move towards the PCT model are “unfounded”.
A statement released earlier this week reads: “Leaving CCGs out of primary care commissioning decisions puts their clinically led and clinically designed strategies for local health improvements at risk, which ultimately means it’s putting the health outcomes of their patients and populations at risk.
“Getting primary care co-commissioning with CCGs right is not going to be easy, but by not using the clinical leadership which is at the centre of local healthcare systems we risk fragmenting the NHS even further, causing even greater healthcare variation.”
