DOCTORS from Kirklees have come forward to take part in the Government’s controversial NHS reforms.

The North Kirklees Alliance and the Greater Huddersfield Commissioning Consortium are among 20 groups of Yorkshire GPs granted Pathfinder status this week.

The radical plan will see GPs given more responsibility for spending the budget in England. Hospitals are also to be set free from central control.

The British Medical Association has slammed the move describing it as “overly restrictive and controlling”.

But Dr David Kelly from the North Kirklees Health Alliance, said: “This is great news for our patients and we will make sure that they are at the heart of local health commissioning decisions in north Kirklees.

“We will now continue to work closely with all partners, including NHS foundation trusts, the strategic health authority, primary care trusts and the local authority during the transition to full GP commissioning.”

Dr Steve Ollerton from the Greater Huddersfield Commissioning Consortia, said: “We are delighted to have achieved pathfinder status and this is great news for the people of Huddersfield and the surrounding area.

“This will also give us the opportunity to share good practice with other parts of the country and to help us set up improved services for our population.”

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said: “Two thirds of the country will now start to benefit from more personalised care as another wave of GPs form pathfinder groups.

“As part of our plans to modernise the NHS, we are taking power away from bureaucrats and handing it to GPs and patients.

“In cutting out tiers of bureaucracy, the NHS will be more responsive to patients’ needs and have more to spend on patient care.

“This is a truly bottom-up response, as demonstrated by the varying shape and size of the GP pathfinder groups.

“The speed of uptake is also highly encouraging. It demonstrates significant will on the part of GPs and nurses to get on with designing and purchasing NHS services so that outcomes can improve for patients.”