England's clinical director of primary care made the remarks earlier this month, adding that the initiative was 'not for resuscitation' because it was 'not taking off in any systematic way' (GP, 16 October).
His comments, reported in GP, became a major talking point at the NHS Alliance conference. At the event, Dr Colin-Thome tried to defuse the issue, joking: 'Perhaps the C in (my initials) DCT should stand for corpse, not Colin.'
Health minister Mike O'Brien also defended PBC.
He said Labour's drive to improve quality could deliver enough efficiency savings to rein in NHS finances. 'The only way forward in these times is to continue on the reform path we are on,' Mr O'Brien told conference delegates.
