Dr Willie Wilson (Letters, August 26) accused Reform Scotland of arguing in our Agenda article ("NHS in Scotland relies heavily on private sector for delivery of care", The August 23) that GPs in Scotland should be salaried, or directly employed by the NHS, as opposed to the private sector system in place at present.
This is inaccurate.
The article states: "Reform Scotland has no problem with private-sector contractors." Indeed, if structured properly, a diverse range of providers can help raise standards across the board.
What the article was suggesting was that, given the current debate over the use of the private sector in the delivery of NHS care, it was unclear whether the Scottish Government was arguing that the majority of existing GP practices that are private partnerships should be nationalised and brought into the NHS in Scotland in order to remove them from the private sector. This is not Reform Scotland's position, but a question regarding the position being taken by the Scottish Government.
Alison Payne,
Research director,
Reform Scotland,
7-9 North St David Street,
Edinburgh.
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