THE NEW GP CONTRACT: SHOULD GPs HAVE SIGNED IT OR NOT?
GPs, central to our NHS system, have been presented with a new contract and a ‘new model of care’ which demand major changes to how they and their practices operate and a rushed deadline to meet these demands.
Signing the new GP contract and joining a ‘Primary Care Network’ facilitates the conversion of our NHS away from its traditional model of providing universal patient care, according to need, regardless of ability to pay, towards the American insurance model: HMO (Health Maintenance Organisation)/ACO (Accountable Care Organisation).
The compromises, constraints and changes enforced by this contract will put patients and professionalism at risk; it will lead to conflicts with medical ethics, constraints on GP autonomy, increased use of inadequately qualified staff and surrender of control of patient lists. GPs are being misled by promises of benefits from ‘integration’, more money and more staff; instead they will find the loss of continuity of care and reduced access to proper medical treatment for patients according to need.
The Corporate infiltration of the NHS that lies behind the 2019 GP contract and Primary Care Networks has gone widely unreported:
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Simon Stevens was appointed CEO of NHS England in 2014; his previous job was Executive Vice President and head of global expansion at UnitedHealth Group, the biggest US health insurer;
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UnitedHealth Group subsidiary Optum now holds key contracts in the NHS and is embedded and playing an active role in reshaping it;
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UnitedHealth Group has developed and promoted Primary Care models in the US since 2007. In England, the first ‘Primary Care Network’ was founded by the National Association of Primary Care (NAPC) with Optum chosen as “corporate support partner”;
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Optum and NHS England are linked by several other senior managers with past or ongoing links with UnitedHealth Group, now overseeing the transformation of NHS Primary Care and the NHS Long Term 10 Year Plan;
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UnitedHealth/Optum personnel in NHS STPs, CCGs and NHS Trusts in several locations are training leaders of ‘Integrated Care Systems’, accelerating the development toward “Accountable Care Systems”, and are involved in the “Next Generation GP” programme. Among other services Optum provides software and consultancy, referrals and prior approvals, procurement and management of contracts, data processing, CCG communications and FOI requests and medicines management.
Patients’ confidential data and a number of patient referrals by NHS GPs are being handled by America’s largest health insurer in some areas of the country.
Fully-informed and conscientious GPs are resisting this contract.
GPs who have signed up to Primary Care Networks should withdraw from the contract immediately.
Let’s act together locally to block these changes to protect your own families and your patients and fight nationally to save our NHS.
For full article and references please visit http://thegreatnhsheist.com/the-new-gp-contract-for-“integrated-care”:-should-gps-have-signed-it-or-not?
