DOCTORS in North Yorkshire remain concerned over the scale of the Government’s NHS reforms despite recent concessions from the Prime Minister.

David Cameron yesterday declared his “love” for the NHS and said the reforms where necessary to save the service from crisis.

As part of a pause in the reforms to conduct a “listening process”, Mr Cameron announced that his plans to hand local GP groups responsibility for spending billions in NHS cash would also now involve secondary care professions, such as hospital doctors and nurses.

Dr John Crompton, chairman of the North Yorkshire branch of YOR Local Medical Committee, said he welcomed other health professionals being involved in the commissioning decisions, but said GPs still supported the stalling of the reform process until issues around “competition and fragmentation” had been resolved.

He said: “We don’t want a cohesive service broken up.”

Fellow North Yorkshire GP Dr Brian McGregor, head of the region’s Local Medical Group, said: “One of our fears was that there was going to be a whole lot of cuts and GPs would be blamed for it.

“The Government always wanted GPs to be seen as the headliners, and GPs wanted it to be seen that they were in partnership with others.”

Despite Mr Cameron’s concession, Dr McGregor said there were still worries amongst NHS staff about private competition within the commissioning process.

Dr James Chan, who is based at York Hospital and has organised a march through York this Saturday against the reforms, said: “To me, it’s what Cameron’s not saying, and why he’s saying certain things now. He’s very much on the defensive right now, really trying to spin the reforms in a positive light.

“He say’s that he loves the NHS, therefore he wants to reform it for the better.

“There’s no evidence to say that the reforms will do that at all. Repeating the mantra of ‘change’ isn’t going to make things better.”

• THE march on Saturday, organised by Save Our NHS York, will set off from Clarence Gardens, opposite York Hospital, at noon. After arriving in Parliament Street at 12.20pm, a number of speakers, including Baroness Haleh Afshar, will address participants about the reforms.

York Press: The Press - Comment

Cameron must listen on NHS

IT IS because he loves the NHS he wants to change it, Prime Minister David Cameron says.

The problem is that while he has put his finger on many of the problems the health service faces – growing demands on resources, coupled with waste and inflexibility – doctors remain far from convinced with his solution.

Mr Cameron wants to put groups of local GPs in control of local health budgets, and ensure the private sector plays a greater part. But many people are concerned what he is aiming at is privatisation by the back door.

Doctors locally have warned about ‘competition and fragmentation’ of the NHS. Nationally, critics say attempting a major reform of the health service at the same time as expecting it to find billions in savings does not make sense.

Mr Cameron has made some concessions. Hospital doctors and nurses as well as GPs would be given a say in deciding how local health service cash is spent, he said. And there would be no ‘cherry-picking’ of services and patients by the private sector.

Doctors locally have welcomed these assurances. But they remain deeply worried about introducing private competition into the health commissioning process. Mr Cameron says he wants to reform the NHS for the better, said Dr James Chan of York Hospital, who is organising a protest march in York on Saturday.

“There is no evidence to say that the reforms will do that at all.” What Mr Cameron is proposing would amount to the biggest shake-up ever of the NHS.

With so many in the medical profession unconvinced, the Prime Minister should listen to what he is being told before ploughing ahead.

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