Lansley to force GPs to take back out-of-hours

Neil Durham, healthcarerepublic.com, 14 May 2010, 09:29am

The Conservatives have confirmed they will force GPs to take back responsibilities for out-of-hours by entering into new contract negotiations.

Lansley to force GPs to take back out-of-hours

Speaking to the Daily Mail today, new health secretary Andrew Lansley (pictured) said: ‘GPs should be responsible. There will need to be a new contract to make this point.'

Under Conservative plans, responsibility will be handed back from PCTs to GPs working in local groups, who will commission services or provide them by working in rotas through co-operatives.

GPC chairman Dr Laurence Buckman said he would not oppose responsibility for commissioning out of hours services being included in the contract.

'GPs involvement in out-of-hours commissioning will be a positive thing for GPs and their patients,' said Dr Buckman.

The Conservatives have contacted Dr Buckman to reassure him that Andrew Lansley does not plan to 'tear up' the GP contract, as the Daily Mail article states.

Opting out of out-of-hours was one of the main reasons GP voted for the new GMS contract in 2004 and GPs are split on the merits of taking back responsibility for it.

Do you think GPs should take back responsibility for out-of-hours cover? Comment below and tell us what you think.

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All Comments

- 14 May 2010

Taking back out of hours is not a significant problem as most of us are using co-ops to cover us. What worries me is the other things they may have planned in the new contract. The KPIs we have seen in the new PMS contract are effectively unachievable.

valerie jane philip - 14 May 2010

Agree that KPI in proposed new PMS are designed to be unachievable \( to enable clawback of course)

IF we are to take back OOH it must be realistically resourced so we can employ enough manpower to do it properly.

Recent political agenda encouraging patients to see 24 hour health care for any problem, however trivial, as their "right" is unsustainable and unaffordable. If we do take back responsibility for commissioning OOH we need to re-establish what constitutes OOH and have a clear policy for patients. Should we continue to pay for costly Dazi Centres seeing people on a Sunday afternoon for routine problems for example, when often such patients are told to "go and see your GP next week"

There needs to be a major overhaul of such duplication.

- 14 May 2010

In areas where good quality out of hours occurs it is usually by a co-op anyway. So I cannot see a problem assuming that it is funded appropriitly. It would tackle the potentially less good service if those areas without a coop

- 14 May 2010

From a patients point of view, this can only be good, providing of course you have a GP Practice who are all as good as each other, both medically and caring. Wasnt this the idea of GP's becoming a practice sharing anyway? Lets hope Senior Practice Partners are allowed to run their businesses - they know their patients, the local PCT's dont!

- 14 May 2010

Resuming responsibility is not an issue. The question of adequate resourcing is. Our former masters have engineered demand which cannot be met without massive increases in funding which, as we know are not available in the current fiscal climate. Time for a reality check.

GEORGE CALDWELL - 15 May 2010

And quite right.

It is time too that the G.P. was paid for doing what he does. Not for doing what he doesn't do.

A Salaried man becomes an unprofessional man. He has become a servant.

It is a very satisfying job to do a good day's work and see as many patients as one can, not turn any away to another day.

That is not what a G.P. and his receptionist are for.

Everyone must be seen in that day at the time the patient is sick.

In 1945 the BMA agreed that its doctors would NOT be salaried. Who except the unpleasant Nye Bevan changed that?

If the doctor was just paid his Fee it would be more dignified for a professional person and encourage him, be an incentive to do more work.

It is surely the duty of the G.P. to see as many patients as possible in any one day so that he gains experience. There is no other way. No books to tell him the answers.

Thus he becomes that "gatekeeper" to halt the queues attending A. & E. Departments at the hospital.

Thee is a great deal of satisfaction in doing those minor operations, the domiciliary midwifery, the country round and town visits. And then be able to charge an extra Fee.

The more work done the more one is paid

Let there be a plastic Medical card encrypted with all relevant information and with one swipe credits the doctor's account.

The more work done, the more pay. No salary please.

A Salary just makes for lazy doctors and we have now lots of them who don't like seeing their patients.

Not to see them by appointment in a few days' time or next week, Good Heavens!

- 15 May 2010

Taking Back OOH responsibilities brings back addional managemnt and business responsibilities back to GPs and as such it is VITAL that it is resourced adequately so that not only the cost of providing these services is paid from new addional funds but also the practices are reimbursed \(however small) for taking on an extra clinical and commercial responsibility. Furthermore, OOH funds should be not brought in to the GLOBAL SUM but should be kept as a sepearte stream of funding from begining so that Prcatices \(and NHS) can see what OOH cost \(to taxpayesr) are. The level of Funding must at least be the same as what the PCTs are paying for couurently to their existing providers.

Rupen Kulkarni - 16 May 2010

some GPs are mere human beings who like to do a good days work during the day time and spend time with their own families in the evenings \( which is every person's right- not patients alone) I get the impression that some people think, GPs are slog machines installed on every corner, for people to come in and see about their raised Potassium level in their left toe nail, on a Sunday afternoon. Clearly there are GPs who want to do loads of OOH and others who value proper elective General Practice. This will be crucial thing to keep in mind before signing away our family lives.