Anticipating what is now seen as the "inevitable" closure of trusts in the Government’s NHS reforms, the BMA believes many employees are now attempting to determine their own fate by moving elsewhere.
Speaking to HR, Dr Richard Vautry, deputy chair of the association’s general practitioners' committee, said that the loss of staff had been the motivation behind NHS chief executive David Nicholson’s inclusion of PCTs "clustering together" in the operating framework for 2010/11.
"Staff members believe that the closing of PCTs is inevitable," Vautry said. "From the time the whitepaper appeared, key PCT staff have been looking for opportunities elsewhere, either in the health service or outside it."
Vautry said that the migration of employees would damage the transition of the health service to the new system of GP-led consortia.
"We want to ensure that the best and the brightest PCT managers are made available to help the development of GP consortia," Vautry said.
"PCTs are struggling; the reality is that some aren’t able to continue to provide the necessary service for the population they serve."
However, not all PCTs are reporting a mass exodus of employees.
A spokesman for NHS Devon said: "We have not seen significant numbers of staff leave the employ of NHS Devon.
"We are working hard to ensure that GP consortia have all the support they need as they take on their new commissioning role in the run-up to April 2013."
The Government will publish its health bill this week, based on the whitepaper issued last year.
