Dear Editor
Doctors work as partners and locums for many reasons including increased earnings. Partners and locums can and do also provide advantages to the NHS and patients. By all means take measures to improve the lot of salaried doctors but doing away with partnerships and locums will reduce opportunities for those who currently choose these career options. As a partner myself I would of course like to see more money for practices. However, I would also like to see it used to create the right incentives around access and continuity of care. This would encourage staff recruitment and retention. It might also incentivise innovation and prevention as well as neighbourhood and system working. Currently there is a perverse financial incentive at the core of primary care which means that meeting patient demand is often at the expense of partner earnings. Changing this could better harness the dynamism and commitment that characterises small businesses for the benefit of the NHS, it’s staff and patients.
Re: Only radical reform will save general practice: we need to rethink GP partnerships