Julia Kollewe’s article (NHS GP practice operator with 500,000 patients passes into hands of US health insurer, 26 February) rightly highlights concerns regarding the privatisation of the NHS by stealth. However, the article does not address the possible reasons why GPs, who are independent contractors, might feel the need to go down this path. As a GP who has spent the last 33 years working for the NHS, I now find myself as a sole practitioner in an NHS GP surgery. This is due to the inability to recruit GP partners following the retirement of my two longstanding colleagues.
There is a reluctance among newly qualified GPs to take on the risks of GP partnership under the current model of general practice. Sole practitioner status brings with it a huge amount of stress, on top of an already very challenging job. It also carries the potential for severe financial losses, which could result in personal bankruptcy should my practice close when I retire. So, if I were contacted by an organisation such as Operose, regardless of whether they were owned by an American company, and without any sign of a solution to my predicament being proposed by our government, I would be very grateful indeed.
Paul King
Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire
