Specialists predict ASCOT will totally transform BP care
GPs will be expected to become more productive as the rate of investment in the NHS begins to slow.
Health minister Lord Warner told a conference on the future of doctors that the increasing demands of an ageing population will not be met simply by recruiting doctors and nurses.
‘Extra investment in the NHS has to be accompanied by greater productivity,' he said.
‘We expect the medical workforce to continue to grow but we need to look at being more productive in the way it concentrates on the work only it can do.'
Dr Laurence Buckman, deputy chair of the GPC, retorted that there were limits to what even the most dedicated doctors could do.
‘There is a point where productivity is dangerous,' he said. ‘If I treat people too quickly I may not treat them properly.'
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