The independent health thinktank charity The King's Fund research fellow Beccy Baird said: "It is really good for patients to have choice and I don't think anyone would think that was a bad idea, but I do think with the rise of private general practice, we should really think carefully about why that's happening and what we might do to make the NHS provision of general practice better for both staff and patients, because in the end we have a system founded on equity rather than ability to pay."