First, the anxiety. The policy's centrepiece sees GPs gain responsibility for budgets from primary care trusts and strategic health authorities, which will be phased out by 2013. Local consortia of GPs will commission services. PCTs, which cater for the health needs of the entire population in their area, have had a mixed record in giving proper attention to children's health. But GPs do not, as a rule, subscribe to the multi-professional "team around the child" approach and are certainly not perceived to by other professionals. GPs are in effect independent businesses. If collaboration doesn't prevail over competition, some highly specialised services - for children and adults - could remain uncatered for.
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