‘Privatised out-of-hours care will put patients in danger’

More than 200 doctors have written to Health Secretary Andrew Lansley and Mayor Boris Johnson to protest at the transfer of evening and weekend care to Harmoni, a private health company.

In the letter, published in today's Standard, they warn the decision to put cost before care will reduce quality for the 950,000 patients in north London who use long-established Camidoc, a non-profit making company run by GPs which provides care and advice when surgeries are closed.

They say the switch to a private provider means GPs will no longer be provided with basic medical equipment such as oxygen for lung patients or defibrillators for life-threatening heart problems.

Some doctors are threatening not to work in "unsafe circumstances" where nurses will be used increasingly, instead of doctors, as well as GPs who may lack local knowledge.

MPs have now called for an investigation into the decision by primary care trusts in Camden, Islington, Haringey, and City and Hackney to replace Camidoc with Harmoni, whose turnover rose from £3.5 million in 2005 to £73 million last year.

Diane Abbott, MP and Labour leadership candidate, said: "This is nothing more than NHS privatisation by stealth. It's wrong that we should allow private companies to take over well established out-of-hours services run by GPs, all in the pursuit of profit."

Failings in out-of-hours care are still widespread, mainly because of underfunding by primary care trusts, which has triggered shortages in the number of on-call GPs.

In some parts of London, just two or three doctors are responsible for tens of thousands of patients.

A spokesman for Camden said: "Camidoc recently alerted the PCT Consortium to problems regarding its financial status. An independent business review was conducted and the PCTs concluded from the report that Camidoc was technically insolvent. To enter into a new three-year contract with Camidoc in its current financial state was not an option that could be pursued."

He added that doctors working for Harmoni would use the same kit as Camidoc provides.

The Government has pledged to put doctors back in charge of out-of-hours care, a responsibility removed in 2004, after a national outcry over the death of David Gray, a retired engineer given a massive dose of morphine. Dr Daniel Ubani later admitted killing Mr Gray through negligence.