Your consortium has plans to shift work from hospital to the community, but you are not convinced the clinical governance is in place to do this safely. Dr Trish Edney advises
How has this happened? Your consortium is not the faceless organisation of the days of us and them, it is made up of your colleagues and you have a part to play. Participate, feedback, go to the meetings and raise your concerns.
GP Commissioning gives clinicians the real opportunity to influence health care, it is a chance of ensuring that the care pathways designed will work safely. If you have worries you must question the team who worked on the project and better still help them refine it.
Whatever you think about the proposed changes, if they happen, the NHS will only succeed for our patients if all those in primary care play their part. We will all be responsible both for successes and failures and trying to bury your head in the sand will help no one.
The government seem to have cunningly designed a system where GPs will have to take responsibility for the decisions and can't blame someone else. So if the Health Bill is passed GPs will have to participate and there will be nowhere to hide.
So take your part then the above scenario wont happen.
Dr Trish Edney is a GP in Sheffield and member of the GPC's commissioning and service development subcommittee
Shifting care into the community
