Recruiters have been urged to stay close to clients by supporting GPs who are concerned that have been left with a “lack of direction”, according to Chet Panchal, operations director at medical staffing specialist Merco.

Yesterday, health secretary Andrew Lansley presented draft legislation of ‘The Health and Social Care Bill’, which paves the way for GPs to take control of most of the NHS budget from 2013.

Panchal told Recruiter: “The GPs we have spoken to are concerned with the lack of direction that they are receiving. While there is all this talk of GP consortia, there does not seem to be any direction on what the structure is going to look like.

“Some GPs that we deal with are more commercially minded and those GPs don’t see it as that much of an issue. They understand that there are services available from outside organisations that can help them procure services and there are individuals out there that will be looking for work once the PCTs are removed.

“We are working with existing clients and we have to ensure the relationship we have is rock solid. As more information comes out from the PCTs, we are having more consultations with clients. So as D-Day arrives, hopefully it won’t be a massive leap but a simple switch over from what we used to do to what we need to do now.

“Recruiters should maintain those relationships with clients. They will need support to ensure that this transitional period is as seamless as possible.”