Family Practitioner Services (Hansard, 12 January 1988)

§ Mr. Newton

The proposals in the White Paper "Promoting Better Health" (Cm. 249) to extend and increase competition in the family practitioner services, to provide more information about services and to simplify the complaints procedures will make services more responsive to the needs and wishes of consumers. Tighter qualifications for the receipt of basic practice allowance will encourage a greater basic commitment from family doctors to work in general practice. An increase in the proportion of their income which is derived from capitation fees will encourage doctors to practise in ways which meet patients' needs.

A number of further measures, for example incentives to reach targets in preventive medicine, seek to relate doctors' pay more closely to their performance. Proposals for a revised contract intended to improve the quality and availability of NHS dental services and to secure a greater contractual commitment have also recently been put to the dental profession.

The Government will further be discussing with the medical and dental professions amendment to their contracts to clarify the role of general medical and dental practitioners in prevention and health promotion, thus helping to meet the growing demand from consumers for advice and information on this important aspect of health care. Some of the additional resources released by the changes proposed in the White Paper will be devoted to training dentists in ways of making their practices more attractive to those who do not attend the dentist regularly. We will also make available funds to assist in the provision of health promotion material for display in pharmacies and will encourage an extended use of pharmacists' skills.

In order that consumers should become better informed about services in their areas the Government will require 249W family practitioner committees to provide more information on their lists published of local practitioners, and will encourage the wide dissemination of practice leaflets. The Government will be discussing the reduction of restraints on advertising by doctors with the General Medical Council and welcome the steps taken by the Director General of Fair Trading to consult interested organisations on the terms of a proposal to refer the restrictions on dental advertising to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission. As further steps to improving standards and consumer choice in the general medical services, we shall be making it easier for patients to change doctor and will be requiring family practitioner committees to carry out consumer surveys in their areas and to act on the results.

With regard to the general ophthalmic services the Government have already taken a number of steps to increase competition while retaining adequate safeguards to protect consumers. We are now seeking powers through the Health and Medicines Bill to extend the principle of increased competition to sight testing while protecting the consumer's freedom to purchase spectacles where they choose.