Doctors should not be used by a Tory town hall to “police” overweight people into getting fitter or risk losing benefit, a GPs’ leader warned today.
Dr Clare Gerada, chairwoman of the Royal College of General Practitioners, criticised the proposal drawn up for Westminster council.
Local authorities are due to take over public health responsibilities in April and a study commissioned by Westminster includes a string of initiatives to make savings to deal with rising costs.
Under the blueprint, overweight benefit claimants could lose housing and council tax benefit if they do not follow exercise regimes prescribed by doctors.
But Ms Gerada branded the proposed scheme “ill-thought through”, adding: “GPs are trusted by their patients and we cannot turn them into a means to police them.”
