Hello, Politicians.......

Are you listening?

The smootching continues, with David (Call-me-Dave) Cameron, the Prime Minister, inviting hand-picked groups of my colleagues to Downing Street to be impressed by the surroundings and baubles. I'm sure that selected high ups from the medical establishment were there. The press release talks in breathless prose about 4000 GPs being represented.

It seems to be about trying to win the argument for change being essential, and the proposed change being the best way forward.

The problem is that virtually nobody is in the least bit convinced. Certainly not the workers, as responses from the BMA, the RCN and the Unions demonstrate.

I would like to point out to the Zealots (those GPs who think this is wonderful), and the Pragmatists (It's going to happen so lets make the best of it), that they are heavily outnumbered by the Unengaged (who are getting on with the job), the Sceptical (those who have an interest but are very dubious that it will work) and the Opponents (those who are actively and vocally opposed).

There are around 35000 GPs in the country, and I would estimate that the breakdown is as follows:

• Zealots - 100
• Pragmatists - 1,500
• Unengaged - 20,000
• Sceptical - 10,000
• Opponents - 3,000

So, Call-me-Dave invites a few of the Zealots and Pragmatists in to a reception. I hope they enjoyed the canapes on offer. The will be encouraged to engage with the Unengaged, and the Sceptics first.

For people who have followed all this GP commissioning stuff, they will have to get used to headlines like this:

Patients could be denied hip, knee and hernia operations.

The blame will be aimed at the GP commissioners, who will have all of the responsibility and none of the power.

I cannot sign up to it at all. My practice is already in a Pathfinder consortium and I am not engaged.  The partners, I would guess would range between the unengaged, the sceptics and the opponents. There are no Zealots in Dullsville.

I wonder, Dear reader, if you are a GP which you are?

The politicians need to start listening to the people, and not the other way round.