New RCGP Guidance to help GPs with ethics of commissioning
20 October 2011
New guidance from the Royal College of General
Practitioners (RCGP) will help GPs navigate ethical dilemmas that
may arise in making commissioning decisions.
The document, Making Difficult Choices - Ethical Commissioning
Guidance to General Practitioners, is aimed at all GPs, but
particularly those who will have a role as commissioners in
clinical commissioning groups in England.
The guidance focuses on:
- Allocating resources fairly
- GPs as commissioners
- Potential conflicts of interest
Dr Dennis Cox co-authored the guidance with Malcolm Oswald –
whose research at the University of Manchester is on ethical
resource allocation – on behalf of the RCGP Ethics Committee. Dr
Cox said: “When GPs become commissioners, some additional ethical
dilemmas arise, such as: how ought we to carry out our role as
doctors when we, or our colleagues, are accountable for
commissioning decisions? How ought we to ensure that our decisions
are not affected by – or seen to be affected by –
self-interest?
“Some of these difficult questions have no “right” answers; the
purpose of this guidance is to provide advice to help GPs make
these difficult decisions.”
The guidance is part of the College's ongoing commitment to
assist GPs in navigating potential conflicts of interest while
engaged in commissioning.
The issue will also be the subject of a debate at the RCGP
Annual Conference - Diversity in Practice – held at the ACC
Liverpool from 20 to 22 October. The motion: This house believes
that GPs have an ethical obligation to lead NHS commissioning, will
feature Professor Martin Marshall, Clinical Director and Director
of Research and Development of The Health Foundation, and Chair of
RCGP Ethics Committee speaking for, and Dr John Gillies, Chair of
RCGP Scotland making the case against.
RCGP Chair Dr Clare Gerada said: “Good commissioning is about
being a good GP, but that does not mean the GPs will not be
confronted with ethical dilemmas, potential conflicts of interest,
or difficult choices in their day to day practice.
“While the College has made clear its concerns regarding these
issues, we fully welcome this guidance, which will help GPs
navigate the often choppy waters.”
ENDS
Download a copy of the guidance
Making
Difficult Choices: Ethical Commissioning Guidance to General
Practitioners 
Further information
The session - Debate on the ethics of commissioning – takes
place at 2.15 pm on Thursday 20 October.
RCGP Press Office – 020 3188 7575/7569
RCGP Conference – on site contacts: 020 3188 7574/7576
Out of hours: 0203 188 7659
press@rcgp.org.uk
You can follow Conference discussions on Twitter with #RCGPAC and
more information on the event itself can be found at: www.rcgp.org.uk/annualconference.
The RCGP Conference App is now available for download. Search
for ‘RCGP Conference’ in your app store.
Notes to editors
The Royal College of General Practitioners is a network of over
44,000 family doctors working to improve care for patients. We work
to encourage and maintain the highest standards of general medical
practice and act as the voice of GPs on education, training,
research and clinical standards.