Up to 500,000 people have to share one out-of-hours GP

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As many as half a million people are having to share just one out-of-hours GP in some parts of England following budget cuts by health authorities, figures show.

Up to 500,000 people are having to share one out-of-hours GP Photo: ALAMY


By Rosa Silverman

8:00AM BST 29 Sep 2012

A third of primary care trusts (PCTs) have reduced their spending on night and weekend services in the past year, leaving family doctors responsible for areas spanning hundreds of square miles.

In Cornwall there have been occasions when one GP has been providing cover for 535,000 people, while in Mid Essex one doctor is available for 370,000 people between 7pm and 8am.

After getting rid of one of its two doctors, North East Essex has the same cover for its 325,000-strong population.

A survey of 90 PCTs found that 35 had cut their budget for out-of-hours GP care, with the average budget reduced by 10%.

The results, released under Freedom of Information legislation, also revealed that 11 trusts employed only one GP to provide cover at night for between 180,000 and 535,000 people.

GP out-of-hours services have been hit by controversy and attracted fierce criticism after a number of high profile deaths including that of David Gray, a pensioner from Cambridgeshire.

Mr Gray, 70, was killed by a morphine overdose given by a German locum doctor, Daniel Ubani, who was on his first shift providing GP out-of-hours cover in Britain. Ubani complained he was tired and was unfamiliar with the drug.

Mr Gray’s son, Stuart Gray, said he was “appalled but not surprised” by the figures on out-of-hours coverage.

He told a newspaper: “It would appear some trusts really don’t care about patient safety or put it high on their agenda.

“I fear many PCT managers are driven by their desire to balance the books. This is morally repugnant.“Patients are still put at unacceptable risk by apparently negligent practices.”

Katherine Murphy, chief executive of The Patients Association, was also unsurprised by the figures.

She said: ‘These stark figures confirm what patients are telling us - it is incredibly difficult to get access to a GP out of hours either to talk by phone or to arrange a home visit.’

In 2004, a new contract enabled GPs to opt out of evening and weekend duties, meaning only one in four works out-of-hours now.

Many trusts have outsourced their out-of-hours GP cover to private firms and it is thought around a quarter of the population is covered by such providers.

A spokesman for Serco, a private firm that provides out-of-hours cover in Cornwall, said there had been only a ‘limited’ number of occasions in the past year when just one GP was on call.

Serco now ensures that at least two GPs are on call at night to cover the county’s 1,316 square miles, he said.

At least five nurses and paramedics are also on duty in cars in the area.

The Department of Health said local NHS groups were obliged to make sure a high standard of care was in place and to take action over any failings.
 
Source: UK Telegraph