TWO groups of Merseyside GPs have been chosen to help the Government make changes to the NHS.
Wirral GP Commissioning Consortium and Wirral NHS Alliance are among 52 groups of doctors to be the first to take on commissioning responsibilities.
The plans were set out in a health White Paper earlier this year.
They will work together to manage local budgets and commission services for patients direct with NHS colleagues and local authorities.
The Government plans to scrap Primary Care Trusts, which currently commission services, in 2013. They will be replaced by GP consortiums.
Health secretary Andrew Lansley said: “We want to create an NHS that puts patients at the heart of everything it does and is focused on achieving health outcomes that are among the best in the world.”
