Here are two facts about British healthcare that not enough people know.
First, GPs don’t work for the NHS. They are private contractors who sell services to the NHS via GP partnerships which are profit-making businesses owned by GPs.
Second, the British Medical Association is not a medical body. It’s a trade union for doctors, representing the financial interests of medics including GPs and their profit-making partnerships.
These two facts should be known by any voter thinking about politicians and health policy. Yet many people appear unaware of them. That’s partly thanks to poor journalism. And it’s partly thanks to the success of general practitioners and the BMA in wrapping themselves in the NHS flag in order to conceal their true nature.
The misperception that GPs are part of the beloved NHS undoubtedly boosts their social clout and negotiating power.
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