Out-of-hours GP Care

David Taylor
8. To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received on the performance of private healthcare companies contracted to provide out-of-hours GP care.

Mr. Bradshaw
We have had no recent correspondence on the general issue of private healthcare companies contracted to provide out of hours general practitioner care. However, we have had correspondence on the Dr. Daniel Ubani case.

Neither the National Audit Office report on out of hours services from May 2006 nor the Healthcare Commission review of Urgent and Emergency care from September 2008 reported any evidence that independent sector providers delivered a lower quality of out of hours care.