SIR – The concept of GPs having their own patients (Leading Article, November 30) – as envisaged by Nye Bevan – was destroyed in 2004, when NHS contracts were shifted from individual doctors to practices. Before that, a named doctor had cradle-to-grave responsibility for named patients. The doctor was the general practitioner; now it is a general practice that handles those who manage to get through the door. Often the care itself is carried out by locums. The dissatisfaction, among both patient