Published 1 July 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b2675
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;339:b2675

News

Use of patient survey to award funds to practices sparks controversy

Zosia Kmietowicz

1 London

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Claims that the results of a national survey of patients may result in many general practices losing tens of thousands of pounds in funding were dismissed this week by a Cambridge academic who defended the survey, saying that it would improve services for patients.

The survey, now in its third year, has angered the BMA because its design fails to take into account the number of people who respond. For the first time this year, funding to practices will be allocated according to the number of positive responses to two questions about access to appointments, even if only a handful of patients respond.

The BMA has criticised the survey for being "fundamentally flawed" and too long for many people to bother with. It has warned that general practices stand to lose tens of thousands of pounds in funding, which could adversely affect services for patients.

However, Martin Roland, professor of . . . [Full text of this article]


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