NHS Alliance: GP commissioning reform should not be dumbed down

The government has been called upon to ensure that the current pause in the progress of its planned NHS reforms does not lead to the abandonment of GP-led commissioning.

Dr Michael Dixon, chairman of the NHS Alliance, stated at a recent health service conference in Harrogate that the organisation believes GP commissioning is a well-founded idea that should not be "dumbed down" in response to recent criticisms.

He suggested that GPs are best placed to allocate resources to the areas that require them most, such as long-term care, which is currently relatively neglected due to a focus on acute care, reports InPharm

Dr Dixon added that making any alterations to plans for GP commissioning would send the "wrong signal", adding that current proposals could help to solve many of the problems currently faced by the NHS.

"It has been led by the frontline and it will be a terrible disaster for the NHS and general practice if it were to falter now," he said.

This comes despite the Royal College of General Practitioners suggesting this week that the proposed Health Bill would harm care quality if passed in its current state.