Out of hours concerns
Concerns have been raised this month over the quality of NHS out of hours care, following the death of a 70 year old man. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has been carrying out an investigation and has raised its worries over the level of monitoring of these services. Out of hours care passed to agencies in many primary care trusts across the country after the change of GP’s contracts in 2004, which meant that they could opt out of working in the evenings and at weekends if they wished. Patients, like David Gray, have suffered as a result. In this particular case, Mr Gray was given ten times the normal dose of the painkiller diamorphine. The CQC has now called for increased monitoring of these out of hours services, saying that the current situation is a “nationwide problem.” Concerns about NHS services are just one reason why some people decide to take out a quote for private medical insurance.
The case of this elderly man is not the only one to hit the headlines. A 41-year-old woman also died back in 2005 from organ failure after being seen by a total of eight doctors over just four days. An inquiry was carried out then into Penny Campbell’s death and found similar problems with out of hours services. Although these high profile cases only cover two areas of the country, the CQC has been investigating five areas which are covered by the Take Care Now programme – primary care trusts in Suffolk, Great Yarmouth and Waveney, Worcestershire, South West Essex and Cambridgeshire. The CQC’s chief executive, Cynthia Bower told The Times, “Although we are still in the early stages of our inquiries, we believe this may point towards a national problem. We are, therefore, encouraging PCTs across the country to scrutinise in more detail the out-of-hours services they commission.” Some people believe these services should become GP’s responsibility once more but until that happens, private health insurance might be one way to access private clinics to ensure a high quality of care. Take Care Now has welcomed the CQC’s findings and is continuing to work with them.
The case of this elderly man is not the only one to hit the headlines. A 41-year-old woman also died back in 2005 from organ failure after being seen by a total of eight doctors over just four days. An inquiry was carried out then into Penny Campbell’s death and found similar problems with out of hours services. Although these high profile cases only cover two areas of the country, the CQC has been investigating five areas which are covered by the Take Care Now programme – primary care trusts in Suffolk, Great Yarmouth and Waveney, Worcestershire, South West Essex and Cambridgeshire. The CQC’s chief executive, Cynthia Bower told The Times, “Although we are still in the early stages of our inquiries, we believe this may point towards a national problem. We are, therefore, encouraging PCTs across the country to scrutinise in more detail the out-of-hours services they commission.” Some people believe these services should become GP’s responsibility once more but until that happens, private health insurance might be one way to access private clinics to ensure a high quality of care. Take Care Now has welcomed the CQC’s findings and is continuing to work with them.
Labels: health insurance quote, health news, private health insurance
Posted by Health Insurance News at 20:28
