Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt has defended plans to invite private sector firms to provide local health services in deprived areas as she came under the scrutiny of doctors and health campaigners.
This week's White Paper on health care outside of hospitals said in parts of the country ill-served by primary care services, competition would be open to anyone willing to provide these to the NHS.
But concerns about the proposals were aired yesterday as Ms Hewitt faced an audience of medics, nurses, NHS managers and charities in a debate organised by the King's Fund health think-tank.
Dr Hamish Meldrum, chairman of the British Medical Association's GP committee, said he was worried about whether profit-driven organisations would share the same values and ethos as the traditional NHS.
But Ms Hewitt said that private companies would be expected to fit in with the NHS around them.
Dr Beverly Malone, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said that she did not think that competition was the best thing for patients.
Ms Hewitt said she did not see use of the private sector as a panacea to dealing with the entire health gap in deprived areas. But she pointed out that the 30 areas with the least GPs were also those with the worst inequalities.
While some "superb" GPs were serving in such areas, historically the NHS had been unable to get enough to work there, she said.
Dr Michael Dixon, chairman of the NHS Alliance, said he accepted that big corporates could come and work in primary care in inner cities and the most deprived areas.
But he said these "big hungry bears" should not rampage all over primary care. Dr Dixon said bringing competition into deprived areas may be necessary.
