A study by the BBC’s Panorama program found that Operose Health used associate doctors to make appointments because it was cheaper to see a GP. An undercover Panorama reporter also revealed that there was a serious shortage of doctors at the Operose GP clinic in London where he worked as a receptionist and an accumulated clinical correspondence – medical reports, test results and hospital letters – that had not been read. up to six months. The revelations led one of the top NHS general practitioners, Professor Sir Sam Everington, to express concern about the “massive risk” to patient safety and to accuse the US company of speculation. Operose operates 70 GP surgeries across England, including 600,000 patients. In a broadcast on Monday, Panorama said that fellow doctors at the unknown operating room had told their reporter, Jacqui Wakefield, that they were actually doing the same job as GPs, despite having much less training and experience. It is intended to be closely monitored by family physicians to ensure that patients receive high quality care. But one told Panorama: “You’re used to being a general practitioner” and that “sometimes I almost never see a doctor. when I first started it was more, now I hardly talk to them at all “. After watching the Panorama video, Everington said he was concerned that the doctor’s associates had said they did not have the supervision they needed. “They say it clearly, but they do not understand it. And that is a problem. “ Regarding unfulfilled medical correspondence, Everington said: “If a letter to the GP is not executed within six months, it is a huge risk to patients, both in terms of developing a more serious illness and in terms of of their death earlier. . » He urged ministers to ask the Quality Assurance Committee (CQC) to investigate the operation of the surgery by Operose, which is owned by the US-based private healthcare company Centene. “They put profits, money, above the quality of care. And that will have an impact. “ Wes Streeting, the shadow health minister, also called for an urgent inquiry. “The Conservatives have broken their promise to hire thousands more GPs, but surgery can not jeopardize the quality of care as a result,” he said. Panorama claimed that Operose operates its surgeries with six times as many associate doctors and half as many fully trained doctors as the NHS average. The company denied Panorama’s claims, including putting profits on patients. She said 97% of her practices were rated “good” or “excellent” by the CQC. She said she had increased the number of doctors working in London’s practice and had hired 38 doctors in her entire portfolio of surgeries in the past year and was recruiting another 12. Patients received safe care, she said. David Rowland, director of the Center for Health and Public Interest think tank, said: “How do you make a profit from a medical practice or cancer treatment other than trying to keep costs as low as possible? This often means using fewer or less specialized staff with a potential impact on patient care. “This model of healthcare is in stark contrast to the founding principles of the NHS, which has sought to isolate healthcare in the UK from profit motives.” Subscribe to the First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7 p.m. BST Dr Richard Van Mellaerts, of the General Medical Committee of the British Medical Association of England, said: national average. “It is extremely disturbing to hear reports that Operose Health associates are treated as equivalent to GPs and work without proper supervision.”
