Leading doctors in the UK have said that a set of reforms in the NHS risk making GPs overworked with new commissioning responsibilities and might allow them to spend less time caring for patients.

While giving their viewpoints at the RCGP's Annual Conference in Liverpool today, the leading members of RCGP informed Dame Barbara Hakin that the new NHS reforms will force GPs away from patient care. They pointed out that commissioners are finding it hard to complete assigned work as the workload is high, even as they have the support of PCTs.

Professor Amanda Howe, RCGP Honorary Secretary, said: “I'm very worried about workloads and work pressures. I look at colleagues who are finding the workload overwhelming despite having PCT support around them.”

Dr Clare Gerada, chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners, warned that the government’s controversial health Bill might covert the NHS into a ‘budget airline’ in which the wealthy will be able to come in first. In the coming future, hospitals could e two queues of patients waiting for hospital treatment – the private and the NHS queue.

Those in the private queue would be seen first while the rest would be left waiting. This could be a result of certain proposals within the Bill which would allow NHS hospitals to treat many more private patients in order their profits.