NHS changes should be tested

At its first annual meeting since the publication of the NHS white papers the BMA has called for no restructuring of the NHS or major changes to go ahead without prior testing and evaluation. Dr Brian Keighley (Forth Valley) said that the government must not fall into the trap of previous administrations. Most doctors in the hall had seen two or three major changes based on the political flavour of the time and they should be properly evaluated.

But Dr David Brownridge (local medical committee (LMC) conference) pointed to the agreement between the government and the General Medical Services Committee (GMSC) on primary care groups (PCGs). This was not received with universal acclaim and there was no mention of pilots. The negotiators should have made proper pilots a major negotiating skill. He was supported by Dr David Cairns (council) who said that first trusts and now PCGs had been imposed.

Both were roundly opposed by the GMSC chairman, Dr John Chisholm. “We are committed to evidence based policy making but where we see that something is wrong we want to get on and change it,” he said. He feared that the motion could be interpreted in the future to use pilots to delay necessary change.

A newly qualified …