Professor Mayur Lakhani, Chairman
of the Royal College of General Practitioners, has spoken of his
members’ concern at the rise of private providers in primary care,
warning of the potential conflict between profits for shareholders
and patient advocacy and a resulting fragmentation of services.
In a speech to the ACEVO*
conference in London on Social Enterprise, Professor Lakhani
- a practising GP and leader of Europe’s largest medical
Royal College - acknowledged that GPs were also
independent contractors running small businesses but that there was
a world of difference between this approach and giant multinational
corporations running primary care practices.
Doctors’ surgeries in supermarkets
were not the answer to better communication, integration and access
to services, he said. GP practices had been part of their
communities for decades, providing services in good and bad years
and through endless reorganisations. In contrast, the question had
to be asked about the sustainability of alternative commercial
arrangements – what would happen if profits dwindled or
shareholders’ priorities changed?
GP leadership was essential in the
development of strategies to prevent the creep of corporate giants
taking over healthcare services, said Professor Lakhani. He
urged GPs to consider new models - including social enterprises -
for organising and managing primary care and commissioning care in
order to protect the quality and safety of patient care.
Professor Lakhani said: “There are
now 55, 000 social enterprises in the UK economy as a whole and
this model may be an important option in the organisation and
management of future health care. However one size will not fit all
and we do not recommend any one particular model. It is up to local
GP communities to debate and choose the best model of care for
working together. One thing is clear, GP practices and
commissioners need information and support about setting up new
models of care.
“The ultimate test is the delivery
of quality and safe care by healthcare professionals working in
unity and collaboration, where patients are fully engaged and their
needs take priority over the needs of the provider
organisation.
“General practice should welcome
the opportunities presented by new ways of working – including
social enterprise – in delivering and commissioning health and
social care. It is important for GPs to go on the front foot and
continue to champion values of advocacy and commitment to
communities as a way of strengthening clinical engagement, driving
up standards and bringing in innovation.”
Notes to
Editors:
*ACEVO – Association of Chief
Executives of Voluntary Organisations. A Conference on Health,
Social Care and Social Enterprise:
15th March 2007: http://www.socialenterprise.org.uk/Default.aspx
The Royal College of General
Practitioners is the largest membership organisation in the United
Kingdom solely for GPs. It aims to encourage and maintain the
highest standards of general medical practice and to act as the
“voice” of GPs on issues concerned with education; training;
research; and clinical standards. Founded in 1952, the RCGP has
over 27,000 members who are committed to improving patient care,
developing their own skills and promoting general practice as a
discipline.
For further information contact
Gillian Watson, RCGP PR Team, 020 7344 3135 or press@rcgp.org.uk