Lose-lose situation for GPs

Every time I think I’ve got my head around the UK health system, yet another reincarnation emerges.
The most recent large-scale change was the introduction of new GP contracts in late 2004, aimed at propping up a GP workforce dwindling under the pressure of high workloads, 24 hour on-call duties and significantly poorer pay than their hospital colleagues.
Under the new contracts, around two-thirds of GP pay became linked to meeting ‘quality targets’, such as predetermined immunisation rates and optimal blood pressure management.
In this latter area alone, it was estimated GP care would save 8,700 patients from a stroke, heart failure, a heart attack or angina, according to a BBC report.
So you’d think the government would have been happy when instead of meeting 70% of targets, GPs reached 90%.
But dollars, rather than patient’s lives, seem to take priority for Health Secretary, Patricia Hewitt, who now says GP profits should have been capped.
With average GP pay reaching over £100,000, Ms Hewitt claims she didn’t realise GPs would “take” so much of the increased earnings as profit, but wanted them to plough it all back into practices.
In the words of GP blogger, Dr Rant, "Who does the Secretary of State for Health believe should be allowed to make 'a profit' from the NHS?
a) The private companies that are set to share a risk free bonanza of £23 billion for being awarded contracts through the private finance initiative.
b) The 'management consultants', many of whom work for your old company, who deliver nothing yet cost the NHS more in total than the medical consultants who deliver the actual 'service' bit (as in National Health Service).'
c) GPs who run their own businesses and manage 90% of day to day NHS activity, and who were were given a legally binding contract to deliver extra work for the benefit of NHS patients.
Deputy chairman of the BMA's GP committee also hits the nail on the head. "Is the Secretary of State saying she wishes GP practices had not performed so well on quality targets thereby improving the delivery of top quality care?", he asks.
"The government signed off the contract which ties income to quality performance. She should be proud of the achievements of general practice, not denigrating doctors for delivering quality patient care."
Will make interesting reading for those in this country pushing for more blended payments.