‘Privatised out-of-hours care will put patients in danger’ | News http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23873366-switching-out-o...

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Sophie Goodchild, Health and Social Affairs Correspondent
02.09.10

Thousands of vulnerable patients could suffer from plans by NHS

bosses to privatise out-of-hours GP services in London.
JDoc- Private GP
More than 200 doctors have written to Health Secretary Andrew Lansley Service
and Mayor Boris Johnson to protest at the transfer of evening and Call JDoc to see a GP
weekend care to Harmoni, a private health company. today. Treatment to your
door.
In the letter, published in today's Standard, they warn the decision to put Helping Hands Home
cost before care will reduce quality for the 950,000 patients in north Care
London who use long-established Camidoc, a non-profit making company Fully regulated homecare.
run by GPs which provides care and advice when surgeries are closed. Rated 'excellent' by CSCI.
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They say the switch to a private provider means GPs will no longer be
provided with basic medical equipment such as oxygen for lung patients Social Care Vacancy
or defibrillators for life-threatening heart problems. Search 1000's of Social
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Some doctors are threatening not to work in “unsafe circumstances” Upload your CV online.
where nurses will be used increasingly, instead of doctors, as well as GPs
who may lack local knowledge. Doctorcall Visiting GP
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MPs have now called for an investigation into the decision by primary treatment 24hrs from a
care trusts in Camden, Islington, Haringey, and City and Hackney to private GP in Central
replace Camidoc with Harmoni, whose turnover rose from £3.5 million in London
2005 to £73 million last year.

Diane Abbott, MP and Labour leadership candidate, said: “This is nothing more than NHS
privatisation by stealth. It's wrong that we should allow private companies to take over well
established out-of-hours services run by GPs, all in the pursuit of profit.”

Failings in out-of-hours care are still widespread, mainly because of underfunding by primary
care trusts, which has triggered shortages in the number of on-call GPs.

In some parts of London, just two or three doctors are responsible for tens of thousands of
patients.

A spokesman for Camden said: “Camidoc recently alerted the PCT Consortium to problems
regarding its financial status. An independent business review was conducted and the PCTs
concluded from the report that Camidoc was technically insolvent. To enter into a new
three-year contract with Camidoc in its current financial state was not an option that could be
pursued.”

He added that doctors working for Harmoni would use the same kit as Camidoc provides.

The Government has pledged to put doctors back in charge of out-of-hours care, a responsibility
removed in 2004, after a national outcry over the death of David Gray, a retired engineer given
a massive dose of morphine. Dr Daniel Ubani later admitted killing Mr Gray through negligence.

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‘Privatised out-of-hours care will put patients in danger’ | News http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23873366-switching-out-o...

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2 of 2 02/09/2010 22:45