THE GP out-of-hours service in Worcestershire has been praised by a patient group leader after a surprise visit.

The Worcestershire Local Involvement Network (LINk) chose the last busy bank holiday period to carry out unannounced spot visits on the out-of-hours service which has run locally since April 1 last year by Harmoni.

The out-of-hours service provides care to patients at evenings and weekends at sites across Worcestershire when many GP surgeries are closed, including at Worcestershire Royal Hospital in Worcester.

The previous manger of the service, Take Care Now (TCN), was widely criticised following the death of 70-year-old David Gray in Cambridgeshire, given 10 times the recommended dose of painkiller diamorphine by German doctor Daniel Ubani.

NHS Worcestershire, the organisation which awarded the contract to TCN, also had its own concerns and had launched its own, independent investigation.

LINk chairman, Ann Montague-Smith, said she was delighted with what it found. “We previously reported on Harmoni’s predecessor and, to be quite honest, it was shocking. The service now is unrecognisable from those days and I would like to applaud Harmoni and NHS Worcestershire for the transformation.

“We spoke to patients who were very positive about their experience: response times, reception staff and the attitude of GPs. One person said it was the first time they had used the out-of-hours service but was very pleased indeed with the service.

“We are pleased to say the service worked very well for the people of Worcestershire.”

Her views were echoed by Dr Jonathan Leach, medical director at NHS Worcestershire, which commissions Harmoni to provide the out-of-hours service. He said: “We observed a 12 per cent increase for health services over this busy period, and as far as we can see, the patients were seen and dealt with very promptly. We will continue to work with and monitor Harmoni to ensure that Worcestershire residents receive the best quality out-of-hours service.”