The vast majority of GPs have ‘some interest' in clinical commissioning, with one in 10 keen to be involved in their local clinical CCG, according to a survey by the Family Doctor Association.
The poll of 318 GPs found that 91% of GPs said they had ‘some interest' in commissioning, while 9% said they ‘weren't interested at all'. According to the survey, 11% were interested in ‘local involvement' in commissioning, with 7% of GPs keen to get involved at national level.
The survey results stressed the need for GPs to be given more information on commissioning, with less than half of GPs reporting that they had ‘sufficient knowledge' of the new system and more than a quarter (27%) asking for ‘more information' to help them participate. Four in ten portfolio GPs (42%) and almost a third of salaried GPs said they did not ‘know enough' about commissioning, compared to one in five GP partners (20%).
The Family Doctor Association said the survey highlighted the demand for information on the ‘frontline impact of commissioning' and the need to keep grassroots GPs informed and engaged in CCGs.
But Dr Peter Swinyard, chair of the Family Doctor Association and a GP in Swindon, said: ‘Over 90% of GPs have some interest in commissioning. This gives hope for the future of patient care and general practice in a hostile political climate, showing that most GPs, whatever their opposition to the Health Bill, think that clinically led commissioning will come.'
