Alagu Shanmugam Vijay Kumar MD

Mr Vijay Kumar, President of the Association of Surgeons in Primary Care, tells Stephen Robinson why the battle is on to save community surgery. Amid the drive towards localism in healthcare in England, the fight to secure more training and funding for GP minor surgery in the community is now gathering pace. South Yorkshire GP Mr Vijay Kumar, recently elected as the president of the Association of Surgeons in Primary Care (ASPC), has an ambitious target to focus commissioners’ minds. He wants there to be one surgically trained GP in every local practice, nationwide, to improve the provision of community surgical care.

He believes this would benefit patients, doctors and commissioners alike, by reducing costs, easing pressure on hospitals, developing GP skills and training, and allowing practices to offer treatment in a more convenient setting for patients.