Doctors demand more influence over future health spending plans

DOCTORS have called for greater involvement in decision-making in the NHS, allowing them to help choose the services their patients access.

Last week The Scotsman revealed that GPs wanted to investigate ways in which they could "commission" care for patients, while backing away from a scheme in England which would hand the control of billions of pounds of the NHS budget to family doctors.

Yesterday delegates at the British Medical Association conference in Clydebank backed calls to "explore models of GP commissioning of health care for Scotland".

But Dr David Bell, a GP from Bridge of Don, stressed they did not want the development of a market-drive NHS, as is feared for England, with competition between private providers and the health service for work.

"We must avoid the pointless and damaging game of selling off our health service to any willing provider," he said. "GPs would not be given responsibility for the budget, rather they would have a greater say in decisions about spending to ensure that patients receive the best care that is available to them."

The conference also heard from Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon, who expressed concerns about the English reforms.

"I think what is happening south of the Border is dangerous and wrong-headed," she said.

Ms Sturgeon also raised fears that there could be a knock-on effect of the reforms in Scotland.

"If the long-term objective - or even just the long-term unintended consequence - of these reforms is to reduce public investment in the NHS then we, if the Scottish Parliament remains funded in the way we are, would see a knock-on effect in our budget."