GP chief launches charm offensive

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/health/6325885.stm

Version 0 of 1.

The government's GP leader is to go on a major charm offensive after weeks of damaging stories about the profession.

GP tsar Dr David Colin-Thome is to publish a major report which will say that family doctors hold the key to modernisation of the health service.

Family doctors have come under fire after seeing their pay break through the £100,000 barrier following a new contract being introduced in 2004.

The health secretary has said GP profits should have been capped.

And last week one of the doctors who negotiated the deal said he was stunned by the terms offered by the government, adding he felt it was "a bit of a laugh".

Patients trust GPs. We're highly trained, offer high quality cost-effective services and our communities respect us, so why aren't we doing even more? Dr David Colin-Thome, GP tsar

The comments fuelled anger over GPs role in the deal. As well as seeing their pay increase by 30% in the first year following the deal, practices were also allowed to opt out of evening and weekend care.

Patricia Hewitt and Prime Minister Tony Blair were both forced to talk out in defence of family doctors towards the end of last week.

And now Dr Colin-Thome will stress the important role they have to play in the future of the NHS.

Last year ministers unveiled a white paper calling for care to be shifted away form hospitals and into the community.

Pilots were soon launched with GPs involved in providing a range of care, such as dermatology, traditionally carried out in hospitals.

Active role

Dr Colin-Thome will say doctors should take an even more active role in pushing the boundaries of community services.

He has produced a report saying they should handle a larger number of minor operations and work alongside hospital consultants in cottage hospitals and health centres.

He also recommends they take responsibility for the traditional six-week post-surgery check-up from hospital consultants, which is currently happening on an ad hoc basis around the country.

"Patients trust GPs. We're highly trained, offer high quality cost-effective services and our communities respect us, so why aren't we doing even more?"

Ms Hewitt backed Dr Colin-Thome's report.

"It shows that to become a truly patient-led, modern health service, the NHS must transform itself further.

"Primary care - as the most frequently used part of the NHS - is perfectly placed to deliver those changes."

Hamish Meldrum, chairman of the British Medical Association's GPs committee, said: "Doctors are being attacked from all sides.

"But the truth is, general practice today is something we can be very proud of."