GPs vote of 'no confidence' for Hewitt and the Government's running of the NHS

The Government was accused of displaying "all the hallmarks of the very worst dictatorships" and of introducing reforms with little evidence that they would work.

Doctors attending the Local Medical Committees conference, held by the British Medical Association in central London, voted overwhelmingly in favour of a motion saying members had no confidence in Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt or the Government's handling of the NHS.

Eric Rose, chair of the BMA's practice finance sub-committee and former chairman of the conference, said he had initially had great hopes when Labour came to power.

After all, he said, this was the party that had created the NHS and who had an election slogan saying there were 24 hours to save the NHS.

"Ten years later, the reality is that a golden opportunity is being wasted and the dangers to the fabric of the NHS appear greater than ever.

"This Government appears to pay too much attention to Downing Street policy advisers who have never worked in the service."

He said the Government had done "untold damage" to the careers of a generation of young doctors and was blaming GPs over out-of-hours services despite the fact that they "fairly negotiated" a contract allowing them to opt out.

He said the Government displayed "all the hallmarks of the very worst dictatorships" and said doctors were being made "scapegoats" for its failings.

He said: "Nobody is more responsible for this than the Secretary of State, 'Call me Patricia'.

"I don't want to be on first name terms with someone I can't trust. I don't want to hear or listen to your sugary words any more.

"I hope you yourself will soon be hearing some sugary words: 'You're fired."'

He said the Government was damaging the fabric of the NHS and had "squandered millions of pounds of taxpayers' money" and squandered the goodwill of a dedicated profession.

Earlier, Dr Hamish Meldrum, chairman of the BMA's General Practitioners' Committee, told the conference there should be "no apologies" for the fact that UK GPs are among the best paid in Europe.

Official figures show that GPs now earn, on average, more than £100,000 a year.

Chancellor Gordon Brown, who becomes Prime Minister at the end of this month, has said there needs to be more flexible access for patients seeking care outside office hours.

But Dr Meldrum warned today there would be no renegotiation of the main principles of a controversial GP contract which came into force in 2004.

Under that contract GPs were able to opt out of providing out-of-hours care and also saw a big rise in their salary, which has attracted widespread criticism.

Dr Meldrum told the conference: "I make no apologies for the pay increases that we successfully negotiated for GPs under the new contract, and no apologies that we are amongst the best paid in Europe - no apologies because you deserve it, as we provide the best care.

"As I emphasised last year, there is no going back on the agreement on MPIG (minimum practice income guarantee) or on any change to contractual hours."

Dr Meldrum also warned Mr Brown that a key Government target - that all patients receive treatment within 18 weeks of referral by their GP by the end of 2008 - could fail if obstacles were not removed.