New concerns about out of hours care

Wednesday, 1 September 2004 12:00 AM

New concerns about the transfer of out of hours care to Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) have been raised by new research.

A joint survey, carried out by the NHS Alliance and MedEconomics, found that nine out of ten PCTs anticipate the new care arrangements costing more than previous GP services.

Under the Government's new contract for GPs, from January 2005 doctors will be able to withdraw from out of hours service, with responsibility (and £6000 worth of funding) then transferred to a PCT.

But, according to Wednesday's survey, nine out of ten respondents believe that the new system will cost more than the £6000. 50 per cent said they would fund the shortfall by delaying new investment, with 28 per cent saying that they will take money from existing services.

However, a substantial majority (81 per cent) said that they did not believe the funding difficulties would affect the quality of care provided.

Those surveyed appeared split on the difficulties in obtaining clinicians to provide out of hours care. 57 per cent reported few difficulties, whilst 36 per cent reported mild to severe difficulties.

Commenting on the results, Michael Dixon, chairman of the NHS Alliance, called for more funding to be provided by the Government. He said: "The Government agreed the new contract with GPs and undertook to fund it 100 per cent.

"It is a direct consequence of that contract that PCTs now have responsibility for out of hours cover. Clearly, government should provide the necessary funding. If they fail to do so, then it will be services to NHS patients elsewhere that will effectively subsidise the new system. That cannot be what anyone intended."

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