Any Willing Provider? Health and Social Care Bill Committee Sitting

Q 77 Nick de Bois: One final question, if I may. It is brief. Dr Meldrum, in respect of the BMA, I am slightly confused about something. The BMA wants hospital specialists to be involved in GP consortia. I understand that; you want that written into the Bill. What I do not understand is why you want it written into the Bill when the Bill allows it in the first place.

Dr Meldrum: It is one of those difficult areas. The Bill is very unclear. It does not even say that you have to have a GP on your consortium, which is a little strange considering that it is a GP consortium. The message that we are getting loud and clear is that hospital colleagues feel pretty alienated by this whole business. Therefore we feel that unless there is something in the Bill giving consortia a duty to consult with both their public health colleagues and their secondary care colleagues, there will not be the reassurance for them that we would seek.
Nick de Bois: Okay. Thank you.

(The Committee sitting can be found here.)