The British Medical Association has called Government plans to give GPs more control of a £5bn education and training budget "troubling".
A White Paper - Developing the Healthcare Workforce - has announced government intent to move responsibility for education and workforce planning to local ‘skills networks', where GPs will sit alongside local authorities and social and education providers.
The networks will allocate funding for education locally, taking on functions currently provided at regional deaneries.
Dr Tom Dolphin, co-chair of the BMA's Junior Doctors Committee, said: "Ensuring that the UK has enough well-trained staff to provide high quality healthcare in difficult economic times will be a major challenge for the NHS, yet the proposals to move away from a co-ordinated UK-wide approach - to a more local system of organising training and education - could threaten national standards and erode the quality of training.
"The pace of change suggested in the consultation is also troubling; with the plan to have new systems and processes in place by 2012, it is difficult to see how there will be enough time to pilot and evaluate changes to the provision of training and education."
A new national body - Health Education England - will also be set up to support to Public Health England and healthcare providers on workforce planning and the commissioning of education and training.
Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley said: "We want to empower healthcare providers to plan and develop their own workforce. They know what services their patients and local communities require - and they know what staff they need to deliver excellent, responsive healthcare."
