The new system will mean NHS Tayside as an organisation taking responsibility for an individual patient instead of a named consultant, with the intention of developing a more co-ordinated access to diagnostic tests and treatments, reducing waiting times and cutting queues for treatments.

But health bosses, attending a meeting of NHS Tayside’s primary care division committee in King’s Cross Hospital, Dundee, today were warned such a major change would meet with resistance and there was a battle on for “hearts and minds”.

Modernisation consultant Jim Devine said one of the main aims was to ensure “the patient sees the right person at the right time”.

At present delays can arise in the care of a patient because they wait for an appointment to see a consultant who may then send them away to await an appointment for another department to have tests before returning to the consultant for a decision about diagnosis and future treatment.

Under the RMC the intention would be to better organise how the patient passed through the system, and speed up access to services.

“The patient becomes the responsibility of the organisation and not necessarily that of a named individual,” said Mr Devine.

He explained NHS Tayside was “looking to establish” one centre that would manage all outpatient referrals for the whole region.

“Where that centre would be physically located was as yet undecided and the timescale was also not fixed.

Dr Bob Rosbottom, a GP at Coldside Surgery in Dundee, said he had been at a recent conference of the British Medical Association’s Scottish GP Committee in Glasgow and at the “supra national” equivalent with representatives from all over Britain in London. Both meetings were “100% against referral management centres”.

Dr Rosbottom welcomed the fact Mr Devine had agreed to visit a future meeting of the local BMA GP committee and discuss the proposals.

“That will be the first time most (local) GPs will have heard about it,” said Dr Rosbottom.

“There are many advantages and benefits to be seen by it (RMC) but also a lot of traps. We need to talk through things that could go wrong for patients.”