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Poll finds consortium doubts over leadership

By Alisdair Stirling

A quarter of GPs do not have confidence in the heads of their local consortium, and fewer than half believe their leaders have a democratic mandate, a Pulse survey has found.

Our snapshot poll of 450 GPs highlights a growing conflict between grassroots GPs and consortium leaders, with a third of respondents reporting tensions in their consortium.

The findings come after a number of rows between GPs and consortium leaders. Last month, Pulse revealed that GPs in Buckinghamshire and Berkshire had accused a number of consortia of pushing ahead without a democratic mandate.

Asked whether they had confidence in their own consortium's leadership, just 37% of respondents said yes. GPs were split on the crucial question of whether their leaders had a democratic mandate, with 38% saying yes and 37% no.

One GP, who asked not to be named, said her county-wide consortium had been formed with little grassroots input.

‘There has been no consultation at practice level,' she said.