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Letter of the week: Cutting QOF will ruin GP practices

I read with interest the debate on removing QOF indicators and the potential for harm to patients.

When the new contract was introduced, it stated that a GP's role was ‘to treat people who are ill or who thought they were ill'. The QOF was a voluntary system to reward practices for setting up and managing high-quality chronic disease management, but along the way this seems to have been forgotten.

Without QOF funding, I expect many practices would no longer be cost-effective.

I doubt many GPs would voluntarily stop chronic disease management, which is in the best interests of patients. But general practice is not cheap to run, and people have to realise if they are asking us to provide an ever increasing service, we need funds to invest in premises and staff.

Response to: Debate: Could removing QOF indicators damage care

Dr Mark Field, Somerset

QOF