Many GPs are deeply concerned about the impact the changes will have on their relationship with patients, and fearing it could have the reverse effect, they are extremely angry at being forced into a role no one thought to consult them about.

A selection of comments from GP newspaper’s snapshot poll released within hours of the White Paper being published, shows how the profession is feeling.

GPs are concerned they will not have genuine power of commissioning, such as being able to stop funding expensive projects of dubious value like walk-in centres, NHS Direct, the summary care record. While, the blame for rationing will fall on GPs, they will not have any power to make significant savings, including bringing real benefit.

However, there are some GPS who feel positive about the changes, as they believe they can commission services far better than PCT managers, who just pay out what providers bill them for. PCT managers, according to the GPs do not know whether the services have been provided or not, leave alone being able to measure the quality of the services. They feel many of these expenses are wasteful, even bordering on fraud.

This, as the NHS Alliance urges GPs to get their commissioning consortiums up and running as soon as possible. The Government has stipulated all GP practices must join consortiums by the autumn of 2012, as ministers implement their radical overhaul of the NHS, which will see all groups funded directly by the new independent Commissioning Board from April 2013.