GPs need the requisite procurement skills if they are to manage multi-million pound budgets, according to Paul Marriott, managing director of Hays Health & Social Care.

Marriott’s comments follow the House of Commons’ debate of the new Health & Social Care Bill yesterday.

Under the Bill published earlier this month, two tiers of management will be scrapped and their powers given to GP-led commissioning consortia, ensuring GPs manage million-pound budgets.

Marriott says: “The government needs to look at the whole picture and consider the impact that these changes may have on patient care. GPs undertake huge amounts of clinical and healthcare training – they are experts in this field but they are not specialists in dealing with million-pound budgets.

“This requires a different set of skills. Instead of simply servicing patients they will become the commissioner of services, which involves buying in services from healthcare providers, and the infrastructure required to deliver this effectively is considerable.

“It’s not just about financial training but GPs will need to understand the procurement process and draw on excellent planning, organisational and negotiation skills. While they clearly have a wealth of knowledge which needs to be tapped into, they should be incorporated into the system rather than given responsibility for it.”