We are not going to do anything that is not in partnership with frontline staff, and GPs are absolutely crucial to that

Malcolm Chisholm Health Minister

Mr Chisholm said he wanted GP practices to manage chronic conditions like diabetes and asthma, sparing patients repeat hospital appointments.

"This summer's decisions on the near 50% increase in health spending announced after last week's Budget will see investment linked to evidence of 'right place, right time care and intervention'," he went on.

"Nowhere will that be more important than in primary care.

"The potential for improvements in both the experience for patients and the effectiveness of the NHS is huge.

Fundholding 'bureacratic'

"We are not going to do anything that is not in partnership with frontline staff and GPs are absolutely crucial to that.

"There is no question of GPs being passed by. They are going to lead these changes in partnership with other primary care staff."

The minister denied the changes amounted to fundholding by another name.

Malcolm Chisholm: Reassuring GPs

"GP fundholding was bureaucratic and competitive, institutionalised inequity.

"We are not going back to GP fundholding. People have to distinguish between GP fundholding and devolving more finance and decision-making to primary care.

"They are two quite different things."

Included in the measures is a commitment to timetables in every health board area for the delivery of 48-hour maximum waits.

Internal market

Dr Mary Church, joint chair of the BMA's GP committee for Scotland, welcomed the move as a "positive step".

"Anything to help our primary care is to be welcomed," Dr Church said.

"This is about reorganising and putting more resources into the health service."

But the Scottish Tories say local healthcare co-operatives should be free to purchase care from the most appropriate provider, either public, private or voluntary.

Deputy health spokesman Ben Wallace said:"We will be reaffirming our belief that the internal market and the commission on care produces the best outcomes for primary care, for the best value for money."

• Meanwhile, the Clinical Standards Board for Scotland (CSBS) have called for improvements in the monitoring of patient and clinical services as part of efforts to raise standards in the NHS.

The board said there were "considerable variations" in progress towards providing safe and effective care for patients.

The report says a "blame-free" culture is needed in the NHS to ensure lessons are learned from both good and bad examples of clinical practice.