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Both the BMA and the RCGP have complained that SHAs’ care pathway groups are dominated by professional executive committee (PEC) members and contain few or no ordinary GPs.

Each SHA was asked to set up groups to discuss eight core clinical pathways, to feed back their conclusions into the final stage of Lord Darzi’s review of the NHS.

The BMA was allowed to nominate doctors it felt would provide expertise to each of the groups. Many were not included, and Yorkshire and Humber SHA in particular fielded no BMA-nominated GPs.

Dr Russell Walshaw, chief executive of East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire LMC, said four very good GPSIs were ignored in favour of GPs with PCT links.

‘When we looked closely at the names we found the groups were predominately made up of PEC chairmen and medical advisors to PCTs. It didn’t seem to represent your average, working, non-political GP,’ he said.

‘We think it’s a bit a sham. The whole Darzi review looks predetermined and just representing the PCTs’ view.’

GPC deputy chairman Dr Richard Vautrey said: ‘It will be very interesting to see if different areas come to different conclusions. They may have been given the blueprint already.’

tom.ireland@haymarket.com

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