The investigation was published today.
This scheme is being rolled out in Birmingham, where the Birmingham South Central CCG is offering GP practices a payment equating to over £11,000 per practice to reduce hospital referrals.
The scheme even applies to urgent cancer referrals, where patients should be seen within 2 weeks but implementation of this new scheme runs the risk that a referral might not happen at all.
The General Practitioners Committee has called the scheme “ethically questionable” and GPs have asked the General Medical Council to investigate.
Ann Houghton, specialist clinical negligence solicitor at Anthony Collins Solicitors commented;
“It is extremely concerning to learn that such a scheme even exists. We all appreciate that changes need to be made to manage the NHS budget so as to protect the NHS for future generations but patient safety must always be paramount. A line has been crossed when saving money is directly and categorically jeopardising patient safety. Such a scheme will undoubtedly risk lives. At Anthony Collins Solicitors we already help patients who have suffered because GPs have delayed referring to specialists, especially when cancer is suspected, but sadly it would seem the number of patients affected in this way is going to rise because of this scheme. It is also important to bear in mind the effect this will have on hard-working, devoted GPs who are put under pressure to cut corners and not able to provide the level of care they feel they should.”
For more information or to discuss any of the issues in this article, contact Ann Houghton.
On 18 May 2020, the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) wrote to all social housing residents in England (residents).
For anyone who is currently restrained from holding their General Meeting or have held such in breach of their governing documents, help is on the way!
Social landlords may be surprised to learn that “landlords should be able to carry out routine as well as essential repairs for most households”.
Many housing providers are now re-thinking about gathering information to complete their data return to the Regulator of Social Housing, with the initial exercise having been delayed by Covid-19.
With many premises being left unoccupied (or minimally occupied) during the lockdown, both Public Health England and the Health and Safety Executive have warned of the increased risks of Legionella.
The Court of Appeal judgement in Booth and another v R [2020] EWCA Crim 575 will be welcome news for local authority prosecutors and their investigation teams.
The Local Authorities and Police and Crime Panels (Coronavirus) (Flexibility of Local Authority and Police and Crime Panel Meetings) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020 came into force on 4 April.
The purpose of this 30-minute free webinar is to address how employers navigate homeworking; supporting employees whilst also ensuring that their organisation stays financially viable.
As we make our first tentative steps out of strict lockdown, many of us have been thinking about what the future will look like for charities, both in the short and long term.
The UK Government has, in the last few weeks, introduced a multi-billion-pound package of measures and financial support for businesses and institutions that experience issues with their cash flow.
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