Staff morale falls as GP out-of-hours service privatised

12:23pm Saturday 3rd May 2008

Comments (11)   Have your say »

By James Connell »

THE GP out-of-hours service in Worcestershire is being privatised.

Staff have been told the service, run by doctors and nurses, will be taken over by a company called Take Care Now (TCN).

The service, currently run by Worcestershire Primary Care Trust, provides care for patients outside normal GP working hours.

One nurse, who asked not to be named, said it employed about 40 nurses and treated 3,000 patients a week from Worcestershire Royal Hospital, Worcester, Kidderminster Hospital, the Alexandra Hospital and at community hospitals in Evesham, Malvern and Bromsgrove. However, the PCT was unable to confirm how many doctors and nurses worked in the service, how many patients it treated or which organisations had bid to run the service.

A spokesman did confirm the move would not result in any job cuts.

The nurse, who has been working for the NHS for 25 years, called your Worcester News in tears and said she was not even sure she would keep her job or be able to carry on her pension plan. "We're all deeply unhappy," she said. "We all feel we have been kicked in the teeth. Morale is really low. We have staff leaving by the bucket-load and we're not allowed to recruit any new ones.

"We feel we have been let down by the PCT. We want to work for the NHS, not a private company."

Worcestershire PCT was unable to confirm if TCN would be running the service when your Worcester News went to press.

A 10-day standstill' period has been called, giving unsuccessful bidders the chance to raise any challenges. A full statement will be issued by the PCT after the trust board meeting on Wednesday, May 14.

On its website TCN is described as a UK-based independent healthcare provider working with the NHS.

Paul Bates, chief executive of Worcestershire Primary Care Trust, said: "The PCT has tendered for a new out-of-hours service because the public have quite rightly demanded that we improve the service that is offered.

"The PCT has followed the letter of the law on the formal arrangements for tendering services and its only determination has been to ensure that a better service is provided."