HEALTH bosses in Worcestershire have hit back at claims they are "failing to grasp" the opportunities offered to them to improve GP services.

The country's GP leader, Dr John Chisholm, has claimed that Primary Care Trusts across the UK were approaching the new doctors' contract, aimed at enhancing services, with "a timid short-termism".

He said: "The new GP contract gives enormous opportunities for PCTs to expand and develop primary care.

"It also gives scope to reform emergency care, to improve chronic disease management, to reconfigure services, to shift services from secondary to primary care, to take pressure off the hospitals, to reduce outpatient referrals and emergency admissions to hospitals.

"The failure to grasp those opportunities has been unsatisfactory and unacceptable."

As part of the new contracts, PCTs have been given money to spend on extra services.

Dr Chisholm said: "One of the greatest causes of anger and disillusionment has been the failure of many PCTs to commission sufficient practice-based enhanced services."

But Gillian Goodlad, director of primary care for South Worcestershire PCT, defended the way it has been introducing the new contract, which also aims to lessen doctors' workloads and give them better pay.

"We have focused on the basics for the contract which was that GP practices receive their funding," she said.

"The vast majority of national and directly enhanced services have been introduced, and work is ongoing with nominated practices to finalise the few that are outstanding.

"The PCT views the future as focusing on primary care and chronic disease management, but it is impossible to do everything in year one of the contract.

"Our commitment to expanding primary care is evident from the huge investment in new premises developments over the next two years, affecting 17 of the 31 practices in South Worcestershire."