Commenting on today’s (19 March 2007) announcement of new primary care services for some underdoctored areas, and the government’s intention to advertise the contracts, Dr Hamish Meldrum, chairman of the British Medical Association’s (BMA) GPs Committee, said:
“Existing GPs have a cost-effective track record of providing top-quality services for patients. They must be allowed to bid for the new resources on an equal footing with newcomers such as private providers. What we don’t want to see is any attempt to use this announcement as a back door way of privatising the NHS.”
