Well, as good as. In a letter today from the BMA’s GPC Chairman Dr Laurence Buckman to all LMC secretaries and chairmen, the BMA has reiterated its concerns that the exclusion of Sessional GPs by some emerging shadow and pathfinder consortia is risking disenfranchising a large section of the profession, and singles out LMCs as playing a vital role in preventing that and stating that there is no good argument to support not involving all GPs whatever their contractual status.
In March, the GPC nailed its colours to the mast:
In order to maintain local professional confidence, all transitional arrangements towards clinically-led commissioning consortia must:
- where creating a clinical leadership team, include a democratic electoral process, that is inclusive and open to all GPs working in the proposed locality whatever their contractual status, and with one GP one vote
- where a practice-level decision is required, for example regarding the practice choice of proposed consortium, every practice must have in place a mechanism which ensures that all GPs working in the practice are appropriately involved in the decision-making process.