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.
Volunteers are often the bedrock of charitable organisations, but they are not protected from sexual harassment within those organisations.
Here at Anthony Collins Solicitors, we have been hard at work advising a charity client, BICMP, on its new music project, ‘Resonance’.
Currently, the only ground for divorce is irretrievable break down of a marriage. Following a consultation, the Government has announced its intention to reform the legal requirements for divorce.
The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has recently made some noteworthy changes to its guidance around data subject access requests (DSARs).
In the fourth part of our series on contract management pitfalls, we look at the risks arising out of varying the terms of construction contracts.
A local authority recently received a "roasting" by the Pensions Ombudsman for their delay in processing an employee’s ill-health retirement pension, following her diagnosis with advanced cancer.
The Times is looking for three or four charities to feature in their editions running in December 2019 and early January 2020.
Cliff Mills defines and talks about the importance of social value in his blog, and its potential within Greater Manchester.
Following a power outage at Anthony Collins Solicitors’ (ACS) Birmingham office, our employees and partners currently have limited functionality, including no access to emails.
Joint ventures present an opportunity for housing associations to build organisational capacity, the revenues from which could help deliver on wider social housing commitments.
To receive invitations to our events, as well as information and articles on legal issues and sector developments that are of interest to you, please sign up to Newsroom.