DOCTORS are to be given more say in the direction of the NHS, Alan Milburn, the Health Secretary, announced last night.

In a move designed to repair the Government’s troubled relationship with the medical profession, Mr Milburn said he wanted doctors to help to draw up a mission statement that would set out new principles for the NHS. It would codify areas such as how much information patients could expect to receive on doctors’ success rates as well as examining targets and waiting times.

The review will be led by Sir Liam Donaldson, the Chief Medical Officer, and will include representatives from patient groups, NHS management and the Department of Health.

Speaking to the General Medical Council (GMC) Mr Milburn said that “a new compact” was necessary because of the way in which healthcare had changed since the NHS began.

“In half a century the world has changed beyond recognition,” he said. “With each passing decade the voice of the patient has grown stronger and challenged what many saw as the cosy compact that bound the state and the medical profession together in the NHS.

“Today deference is lower, expectations higher. People expect services that are tailored to their individual needs. They want choice and they demand quality. That is the challenge that faces every healthcare system in the developed world.”

Ministers hope that if they can engage the medical profession in a debate about the future of the NHS they can restore confidence among doctors, which has been badly damaged by rows over their future contracts.

“This is not a gimmick,” a source said. “It is a very serious attempt to put the NHS on a modern footing and that requires everyone involved in the service working together.”

Ian Bogle, chairman of the British Medical Association, was less than enthusiastic about the new scheme. “I believe that a compact already exists between patients and doctors — it is the basis of all medical ethics and underpins every consultation that takes place,” he said.

“The General Medical Council sets out in Good Medical Practice the underlying principles behind patient care and the BMA is producing a new edition of Medical Ethics Today to reflect medicine in the 21st century. Everything is capable of improvement, but no one wants another layer of bureaucracy to get in the way of best patient care.”

• Doctors have lost the confidence of the public through their failure to control the profession through self-regulation, said a former president of the GMC in a new book.

  Sir Donald Irvine, who was President of the GMC from 1995 until February last year, said in his book, A Doctor’s Tale, that there had existed a collusive relationship between doctors anxious to retain their professional autonomy, and governments seeking to ration healthcare. Each had avoided confronting the other.

  Sir Donald’s period at the GMC coincided with a series of scandals, including the Bristol heart baby cases, the Shipman murders, and the misdemeanours of gynaecologist Rodney Ledward.

  He admitted that doctors had struggled to make professional regulation work properly through the GMC. But he also blames governments and NHS management for failing to regulate doctors’ performance effectively through NHS contracts.

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