Thirty-five die after out-of-hours GP care fails

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Research following the case of Penny Campbell, 41, who died in 2005 after consulting eight out-of- hours GPs, has also revealed that the number of complaints over such services increased from 155 in 2005 to 182 last year.

In the Campbell case, doctors failed to spot she had blood poisoning. A report found that there were problems accessing notes from earlier consultations.

In another case a 34-year-old man with a chest infection and breathing difficulties was seen by an out-of-hours GP who prescribed an antibiotic and said he would ask a doctor from the patient's own practice to call the following day.

The request was not passed on and the man was found dead the following night from pneumonia. The resulting claim was settled.

Doctors were allowed to opt out of providing care for their patients outside normal office hours in 2004.

The MDU analysed 337 complaints and 41 medical negligence cases involving outofhours GP care.

The most common complaints were about failure to diagnose an illness correctly and delays in visiting the patient.

Other problems included: no access to medical records; difficulties in arranging followup care and the absence of a previously established relationship with the patient.