Angry GPs hit out over patient transfer
‘Unfair allocation’docs tells NHS bosses
Doctors from a Perth surgery have formally complained to NHS Tayside voicing “extreme concern, anger and profound disappointment” over its handling of the Bridge of Earn GP closure.
The doctors wrote to NHS Tayside expressing their anger at the way the health body has also reallocated patients to surgeries in Perth.
The letter from partners at the Victoria GP Practice, sent to Professor Peter Stonebridge, highlights how they feel the health board “hastily implemented” the reallocation of Earn GP patients.
They also accuse the health board of showing “little regard or concern” for any of the Perth city GPs, and that these decisions are likely to impact on GP service provisions, both in the short and long-term.
The letter also states how the Victoria Practice GPs feel they find themselves with an “unfair allocation” of patients – mainly from Abernethy and Forgandenny – with very few in Bridge of Earn.
It adds: “This is clearly unfair and disadvantages our practice more than any other practice in Perth city.”
Mid Scotland and Fife MSP Liz Smith held a meeting with health minister Jeane Freeman to ask for clarification on plans for the delivery of primary care services in Bridge of Earn.
Commenting on the letter, she said: “These letters from GPs are alarming, not least because of the concerns they raise about patient safety.
“This is a completely unsatisfactory state of affairs which is the direct result of NHS Tayside’s mishandling of the whole issue.”
An NHS Tayside spokesperson said: “When any practice gives notice to stop providing services, the health board has a responsibility to ensure that the safest primary care services are provided to the population.
“Since the time that we received notice, our priority has been to ensure that safe and sustainable medical cover is available for people in the Bridge of Earn area.
“Reliable GP staffing is obviously critical to running a safe practice and therefore, in an effort to try to keep GP services local to Bridge of Earn, the Perth and Kinross Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) and NHS Tayside offered a number of options to try to secure GP cover before the practice closed.
“These included the opportunity to operate Bridge of Earn as a satellite or branch practice and the chance to provide more flexible services in line with the needs of the population.
“We also asked if GPs were able to commit to work in the practice alongside a salaried GP.
“Unfortunately, the transfer of patients to nearby surgeries was the only safe option for patients to continue to be able to access GP services.”
The spokesperson said NHS Tayside has already commissioned an in-depth review to ensure “lessons can be learned” from the Bridge of Earn GP closure.
They added: “The medical director is offering a meeting with Perth city cluster colleagues to review the issues raised by GPs with a view to discussing an agreed way forward,” they added.
“It must be noted that both NHS Tayside and Perth and Kinross HSCP have always said that they will continue to look at the delivery of health services in the Bridge of Earn to explore what can be provided in the local area now, and importantly, which services should be provided in the future.
“Everyone has given a commitment that the population of Bridge of Earn needs to be fully involved in the planning of future health services and arrangements are being made to ensure the community can have a strong voice in those plans.”
Clearly unfair and disadvantages our practice more than any other practice in Perth city