Letter: Salaried GPs?

THE BMA’s dispute with the government over doctors’ pensions could open up a can of worms (Letters, 2 and 3 April).

Why were GPs allowed to become members of the NHS pension scheme in the first place?

From the start of the NHS, GPs have jealously guarded their independence, insisting on being self-employed. Can self- employed people be members of a public-sector scheme, irrespective of whether it’s in surplus?

Moreover, it seems HMRC may query “self-employed status” when one person contracts mainly to one employer.

If good can come from bad, the dispute may lead to NHS- salaried GPs in Scotland.

Ellis Thorpe

Old Chapel Walk

Inverurie, Aberdeenshire