Letter: GP fundholding based on self-interest

GP fundholding based on self-interestSir: Dr P J Ambler (Letters, 15 May) hits the nail on the head. Of course GP fundholders have achieved improvements in services for their own patients, but given that ultimately the size of the financial health cake remains the same, the majority of such gains will necessarily be at the expense of services available to other GPs (no lesser physicians themselves, but likely less astute entrepreneurs), and hence to their patients.

People are ill usually through no fault of their own, and should not be expected to suffer as a result of inequity of provision. If we pride ourselves on having any sort of social conscience we should seek to redress any such imbalance, and not compound it by persisting with self-centred systems based on self-interest.

Dr A Canale-Parola

Rugby, Warwickshire