View from the house: Overrun by GPs is a waste of money

Aug 13 2008 David Wilshire, Conservative MP For Spelthorne, Surrey Herald

ALONG with 30 other local people I attended a 'co-design' meeting with Surrey Primary Care Trust a few days ago.

Its purpose was to ask us what we wanted it to do with the extra money promised by the Government for improving GP services in Surrey.

The meeting started provocatively. We were told we could not discuss setting up a new GP practice and siting it at Ashford Hospital.

The PCT had decided this was going to happen whether we liked it or not.

I asked the first question - how much extra money is available? We were told this was confidential. How on earth could we decide what we wanted if we were denied knowing how much money was available?

My second question did no better. Who has been invited to tender? It turned out this a secret too. So we can only speculate whether the winning bid will come from Ashford Hospital, some local GPs or a commercial business. Is the Labour government confidentially trying to privatise the NHS?

My third question was dismissed too. Why, as Spelthorne is not short of GPs, are we being forced to have more? I was told this is government policy even if we do not need them.

This triggered off the local GPs present. They wanted to know where the 6,000 registered patients for the new practice were going to come from. All my constituents are already registered with a GP and Spelthorne's population is not increasing so they can only come from existing GP practices.

This farce went on for almost two hours. What a way to conduct consultation.

What a way to waste taxpayers' money. What a way to insult local people and local GPs.