Government unveils 'supermarket GPs'
Doctors could soon be coming to the high street
Also In The News
|
Police are urgently trying to contact two youths in connection with the murder of a teenage boy in east London last night. |  |
Monday, 19, Mar 2007 12:39
Private firms are being invited to bid to run GP surgeries under new plans revealed by the government which could see clinics come to the high street.
Tenders will be solicited for the right to run surgeries in some of the UK's most under-serviced areas, with ministers claiming the new system will improve performance and customer care.
The move marks the latest step in the use of the market to deliver improvement in the health service, with the theory running that competition will drive up performance levels, while the integration of clinics in town centres will help ensure they are easily accessed.
Ultimately the clinics could be established in pharmacies, supermarkets or other high-street stores, with health secretary Patricia Hewitt insisting it had the potential to revolutionise the NHS.
"GP practice and primary care service will remain at the heart of the national health service but we need to open it up to make sure we are getting the best possible expertise wherever that come from," she argued.
"And one of the things new suppliers can do is bring in a pharmacy service or a healthy living cafe or a gym and a fitness centre alongside a traditional GP service.
"Now that service can be run by anything from a FTSE 100 company through a traditional GP practice in partnership with others right through to a social enterprise."
However, the move has been criticised by some, with Liberal Democrat shadow chancellor Vince Cable among those counseling caution, saying the government should be wary of a "mechanical approach to empowering patients".
Initially four five-year contracts worth up to £30 million are being offered in Hartlepool, County Durham, Mansfield and Great Yarmouth.