Thousands of patients in a rural practice in Lancashire are fighting to avoid being taken over by a large private medical company in a David vs. Goliath battle that doctors fear will have nationwide repercussions on the NHS.
The dispute over who runs the Whitnell Health Center (WHC) in a village near Chorley is seen as a turning point in the future of primary health care. This was reported by the Medical Association of Great Britain. I The series highlights the trend among health officials that “more is better” when it comes to family medicine, to the detriment of patients.
The Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Council (ICB) last year issued an invitation to host the WHC, which serves 5,500 patients, after ending collaboration with general practitioners. The winner of the new £12 million contract was to be Dr. Ann Robinson, now the only partner to have been with Withnell for 10 years.
Unbeknownst to patients, the second offer came from SSP Health, the largest primary care provider in North West England. It operates 40 practices serving over 150,000 patients. The ICB duly selected SSP as its preferred bidder, allowing Dr. Robinson was just under 4 points behind on a 75-point system.
“The patients were completely stunned and angry at the result. They had no idea this was happening and had no real opportunity to provide feedback on the matter,” the doctor said. Robinson I.
“I got a higher score for patient care, but a lower [than SSP] on things like HR and IT policies, which are much more geared towards large vendors than smaller vendors. It’s like a supermarket versus Tesco.
“The fact that the contract was up for auction was open and transparent, but there was no openness and transparency when it came to patient participation. The ICB should put the patient at the center of every decision, but we believe they have broken their own rules. I think they’re surprised by the backlash.”
Withnell staff will refuse to work for SSP if a contract is made, due to patient concerns that continuity of care will be lost if a GP Observer appeal is made, and a new focus on digital rather than personalized care, as has been done in other cases. SSP practices. DR Robinson, 55, paid £35,000 of her own money to appeal the ICB’s decision, which could go to court.
She said: “The whole spirit of the operation is being destroyed. [if SSP take over]. This has been a group practice for 50 years. We provide continuity and stability and therefore keep our patients away from the emergency room.”
Chorley MP – Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle – joined the queue after being inundated with complaints. He urged the ICB to reconsider his decision, stating “It is vital that local GPs provide quality care and I am concerned about the proposed post-contract change to the position of local GP.”
The situation is being seen as a test case for ICBs, which only came into existence last year as a result of a succession of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs).
Dr. Robinson said: “This is a turning point in the future for primary health care because I am afraid of development. UCI are young organizations and this will be an indicator of how they will work in the future; and what is their true agenda.
“Do they take care on the spot seriously and put the patient at the center of every decision they make? Or is it really about money and big business and promoting the digital NHS program at all costs, whether it benefits patients or not? We’ll wait and see.”
The patients formed the Save Whitnell Health Center campaign group, led by counselor Margaret France, who has been a general practitioner at the center for 30 years. Thousands of letters were sent to the ICB complaining about the decision to make SSP Health the preferred bidder.
This was reported by a source close to the process. I They thought the ICB had put itself in a stalemate: contract with SSP Health and piss off thousands of patients, or contract with Dr. Wilson. provide more general practice services throughout the country.
Dr Lizzie Toberti, Chief General Practitioner of the Association of Physicians of Great Britain, said the ICB appeared to have made a “blunder” in not taking patients into account.
“If a favor is not rendered for them, who will? This question highlights a much broader trend of recognizing that more is better when it comes to essential services,” she said.
“Similar cases can arise when due process is not followed. Some improvements could be made, but many of our patients actually tell us that they truly value an ongoing and long-term relationship with their GP.
“Indeed, the data tell us that continuity of care leads to greater patient satisfaction, fewer hospitalizations and better care. DAUK believes that continuity of care and relationship-based medicine should be at the heart of all future public health policy. Patients in Lancashire have realized what is at stake and are fighting for it.”
Julia Baines, 62, who has been registered with the center since birth, said she was “terrified” by what was happening.
“I have complex health issues so I am also worried about myself because if we get a locum tenens I don’t think it will be good for my health. Smith about something, and next week Dr. To see Jones who knows or doesn’t know what’s going on,” she said.
Andy Skaife, chief executive of SSP Health, accused Dr. Robinson for “using his position to upset the local community” after losing the bid.
He said I: “We understand that people may be concerned about any changes, and now that the intention of the ICB has been confirmed, we would like to answer any questions from the team or patients as soon as possible.
“In the meantime, we want to reassure anyone needlessly worried that our goal is to keep the team going, continue their good work, and expand the services available to patients.”
Family doctor company operating in the Northwest
SSP Health is led by Dr. Shiha Pitalia, GP since 1991, and her husband Dr. Sanjay Pitalia, also GP. He specializes in primary health care, although there is no indication that this is the case for Whitnell, who has an 87 percent patient satisfaction rate under current management. SSP Health has an average patient satisfaction rate of 55.3 percent across all general practice services.
The company employs approximately 500 people in Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Cheshire, Merseyside and Cumbria and is headquartered in Ashton-in-Mackerfield, Wigan. The Pitalia also own Pall Mall Medical, which provides private medical care in Manchester and Liverpool.
Activists have raised concerns about SSP Health’s track record in Liverpool. In 2016, health officials said the company would no longer work with 15 clinics in Merseyside following a wave of complaints against the company, many of which came from disgruntled patients who struggled to make appointments.
Four Merseyside operations were deemed “unsatisfactory”, although two later improved while the SSP was still operating them.
SSP Health CEO Andy Skaife said the company has improved its operations. He said I“The high level of service we provide is demonstrated by our excellent ratings from the Service Quality Commission, where all of our methods are at least good, with 12 percent rating them as excellent, well above the national average.”
Last year, 11 of the 13 general practice clinics in Wigan ranked worst in terms of patient satisfaction were operated by SSP Health. Mr Skaife said this reflected the difficulties SSP was having at the time in trying to move away from “the way Covid works.”
He said, “We’ve been working hard since then to reverse that.”
Mr. Skaife said he tried to persuade the doctor. However, Robinson, to discuss her concerns, received no answer. “As a result, statements about how we operate, about our values and our behavior are unfortunately unfounded and unsupported by facts,” he said.
Following a protest by about 100 patients outside ICB’s Leyland offices on Wednesday ahead of a board meeting, ICB CEO Kevin Lavery said: “We are currently reviewing all information about the procurement process and have not signed contracts with any new supplier.
“We hope to resolve this issue within two to three weeks. Going forward, we are determined to continue our community activities and reassure our local community that providing quality services remains a priority for ICB.”
Dr. Robinson said, “I think they started listening in that meeting. Just too little, too late. It’s business as usual for us until we hear something else. We are here to serve our people.”
Source: I News
I’m Raymond Molina, a professional writer and journalist with over 5 years of experience in the media industry. I currently work for 24 News Reporters, where I write for the health section of their news website. In my role, I am responsible for researching and writing stories on current health trends and issues. My articles are often seen as thought-provoking pieces that provide valuable insight into the state of society’s wellbeing.