A Government minister has accused GPs of operating "gentleman's agreements" in which they promise not to take other doctors' patients. Health Minister Ben Bradshaw blamed the GP pay system for including a lump sum which "dampened the incentive" to attract new patients and allowed some practices to survive with a small number of patients, the BBC said. Currently, basic pay consists of the lump sum in addition to payments per patient. Mr Bradshaw told the BBC: "There is no doubt there are some areas where gentleman's agreements operate that mitigate against lists being open to new patients and therefore work against real patient choice." He warned that the current system was working against Government plans to encourage patient choice as a way of fostering competition and driving up standards in health care. The British Medical...
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