§ Mr. Nicholas BennettTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he intends to take to raise standards of primary health care and make services more responsive to the needs of the consumer.
§ Mr. MellorThe proposals in the White Paper "Promoting Better Health" are designed to do this. For example, in the case of family doctors, changes to the terms of service and remuneration system will encourage doctors to raise standards nearer to those of the best practices and to make services more sensitive to the needs of the consumer. Training and teamwork in primary care will be developed and improved. Health promotion and the prevention of disease will be a priority. We will also strengthen family practitioner committees' management role with the aim of ensuring continued development in the provision of cost-effective family practitioner services which are responsive to patients. More information will be made available to consumers about services and practitioners in their area. The procedures for making complaints against practitioners will be simplified, and existing restrictions on changing doctor will be removed.