A private company has been given the contract to run an innovative health centre in Hanley for people who don't have to register to see a doctor. Health reporter Dave Blackhurst looks at why there are growing concerns about the influence of private firms on the NHS.

HEALTH officials are pinning their faith on the private sector to help end a long-standing shortage of GPs.

Stoke-on-Trent's Primary Care Trust (PCT) has chosen non-NHS organisations as preferred providers to run three new practices it is setting up in the coming year.

Already, non-emergency ambulance transport in the Potteries has passed into private hands in the form of Parkwood Healthcare; a £3 million-plus new counselling service for mild to moderate mental illness has been awarded to the Healthy Minds Network run by national charity Rethink; and Crewe company Alchemy is receiving £650,000 a year to run a new dental practice in Shelton.

Two of the extra surgeries have already been planned for Meir and Middleport.

But now it has emerged they will be handed respectively to the Willowbank Community Interest Group and NHSolutions, which operates practices in Newcastle and Packmoor.

The innovative GP-led health and well-being centre in Hanley will be managed by Badger Harmoni Health Care, which provides out-of-hours medical services in South Staffordshire, having won that contract from the county's ambulance trust.

While welcoming the extra investment, which will bring a total of 12 fresh GPs to the city, doctors' leaders have voiced concerns over the march of the private and other non-NHS sectors.

They have also called into question the rationale behind the Hanley project by warning it could be bad for some patients, as well as de-stabilising existing practices close by. Dr Paul Golik, pictured inset, secretary of the 250-GP North Staffordshire Local Medical Committee, said: "With this area having fewer than average GPs, clearly this investment can only be a good thing.

"But we don't think the PCT is spending it in the best way. A better way would be make the new money available to existing practices which the trust already knows are doing a good job. They could then use it to expand those practices.

"The fear with pushing services into the private sector is that profit will come before concerns over the well-being of patients."

The Hanley project, which is due to open in the Autumn, will be similar to a traditional walk-in centre such as the one at the Haywood Hospital, in Burslem, but patients can be seen by GPs rather than just nurses.

They will not need to be registered with the practice to get help, but if they are impressed with the service they will be allowed to register and it is understood there will be 6,000 slots available.

Dr Golik said: "If people opt to register they will be lost to other practices, which will then be destabilised and suffer. We know that some local GPs did put in bids to run the centre, but were turned down for reasons we are not aware of.

"We also fear there will be duplication of work with people been seen at both their own practice and the one in Hanley.

"Other questions arise such as the staff not having patients' history to hand, and that brings the risk of problems such as not knowing whether they are allergic to particular medications. Then what arrangements are in place for making sure the patients' own GPs are sent full notes of what treatment they received?"

The PCT argues there is demand for a drop-in service from the city's transient population of office workers and shoppers.

Ian Gibson, PCT planning officer, said: "We don't believe the new centre will de-stabilise existing Hanley practices, which are already too popular with their patients for them to leave in any numbers.

"The preferred provider has an excellent track record for enjoying good working relationships with other practices."

PCT chief executive Graham Urwin said: "The recruitment drive is central to our Primary Care Strategy. The more doctors we have, the more time they can spend with patients and helping those most in need.

"And rather than just treating patients as they come in to see them, it also gives doctors more time to reach out into their community and work with patients on their lists who are most at risk.

"By getting in there early, rather than treating patients when they get really ill, it's better for patients and it's better for NHS resources overall. This is a win-win situation."

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