Changes required in Hounslow Out of Hours GP care, say Lib Dems
March 17, 2010 12:00 AM
Cllr Andrew Dakers, Joseph Bourke and Mona Naqvi outside Brentford Health Centre - Andrew and Mona have raise concerns about local out-of-hours GP services
Hounslow Liberal Democrats are raising their concerns this week at a recent Government Survey of out-of-hours GP care that rates Hounslow as one of the worst six services in the country. The Government survey followed the death, in 2008, of 70-year-old David Gray, who died after he was treated by a German doctor with no experience as an NHS GP.
Cllr Andrew Dakers, Prospective MP for Brentford & Isleworth, says:
"The Survey shows that Hounslow out-of-hours treatment ranks in the worst six services in the country. We have a right to expect a higher quality service.
"Even though overall we have high quality GP care in Hounslow it is clear that there is a problem with out-of-hours provision.
"National cases have shown that the present arrangements can produce tragic results. It is a matter of concern that the way contracts have been written has undermined what used to be good evening and weekend services in some areas.
"Local residents need to be certain that the right care is available whenever we need it, no matter what time of the day or night. We now need rapid action from NHS Hounslow, the Primary Care Trust, to address patients' concerns and improve the service."
NOTES TO EDITORS
(1) 'England's out-of-hours GP care 'is inadequate'', Saturday 13 March, BBC News Online
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8565508.stm
(2) Analysis by The Patients' Association
The Patients' Association has released information obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests and analysis of the unweighted results of the National GP Patient Survey quarters 1 and 2, 2009/10 of over a million patients which highlighted wide variations in spending and reveals a league table of poor patient satisfaction with out of hours care.
Freedom of Information results from 90 Trusts reveal that the average spend per head of the registered patient population was £9.00 but there was significant variation with the lowest spending less than £1.50 and the highest over £20.00.
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