Shropdoc replacement starts this week
Public concerns remain before Shropshire’s out-of-hours GP service starts with a new contractor this week, a meeting heard.
The contract that was run by Shropdoc is being handed over to Health Hero – formerly known as Medvivo – with a start date of Wednesday, October 1.
A meeting of the board of NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin (NHS STW) this week heard that the commencement is going to plan with Health Hero due to play a vital part as the health system prepares for winter.
Health leaders were told on Wednesday (September 24) that they are continuing to publish updated frequently asked questions (FAQs) and bulletins with the aim of helping to increase public confidence.
A board paper presented by chief executive Simon Whitehouse read: “We recognise that there remains concern around the future of this service.
“We have continued to publish updated FAQs and myth busting bulletins to help increase public confidence.”
The commissioners have also been fielding a number of questions from members of the public about the future of the service. The board takes questions from the public and publishes the answers on its website at a later date.
Questioner Gill George, of Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Defend Our NHS, wrote in June: “The level of public interest in the pending loss of Shropdoc is completely unprecedented.
“Will the board be mindful, prior to signing off any final decision, that the ICB and Medvivo/Health Hero will face intense scrutiny over the future provision of GP Urgent Care services?”
Officials responded: “NHS STW are aware of the public interest in the recent GP out-of-hours (OOH) procurement and recognise that there is a level of concern in regard to the award of the contract to Health Hero (recently known as Medvivo).”
It continued that it will ensure “robust contract management is in place alongside monitoring of key performance indicators”.
“This will include patient experience measures to include both compliments and complaints received via the service.”
They added that “the board is confident that the procurement process was robust, conducted with integrity, and focused on achieving the best possible outcomes for our patients”.
“This has been confirmed by the publication of the Independent Patient Choice and Procurement Panel.”
Leaders insist that “NHS STW was found to have carried out “a transparent, fair, and proportionate procurement process,” the board papers report.
The answer revealed that a formal ‘urgent’ contract decision was made on July 4, because of the need to “mobilise the service before the winter period” following the “delay caused by the representation processes”.
Health Hero will be helping to “identify and provide alternative to hospital pathway referrals for patients” which is a key part of getting ready for winter.
