Campaigns

Joanne Celebrates Victory for Garway Road GPs

The Westminster Primary Care Trust Vacant Practice Panel (VPP), at their final meeting on 28th September, awarded the GP contract for the Garway Road Health Centre to the bid fronted by the existing Garway Road GP’s and supported by Joanne.

Westminster PCT invited parties to tender for the Garway Road GP contract earlier this year at a greatly reduced rate. Patients’ representatives claimed that this would undermine the quality of service available to patients and result in the introduction of inferior GPs who lacked any knowledge of the local community or their medical histories. The Garway Road GPs refused to sacrifice the standard of care they currently offer and their successful bid was backed by an overwhelming number of patients, in spite of being above the proposed PCT budget.

Joanne has vigorously lobbied Westminster Primary Care Trust (PCT) on behalf of the Garway Road Patients’ Action Group and expressed her satisfaction at the final VPP decision: 'The importance of maintaining the local GP- Patient link that has been forged over many years cannot be quantified in monetary terms; our patients are entitled to expect a high quality service from local practitioners and the Garway Road bid guaranteed just that. Labour’s attempts to reform the NHS have introduced an element of blatant opportunism that leaves GPs who command the trust of their patients vulnerable to PCT driven cost-cutting exercises.'

The Patients’ Action Group admitted that they were unsure whether their bid would find favour with a PCT that had placed so much emphasis on reducing the value of the GP contract; expressing their gratitude to Cash a spokesman for the group said: 'Joanne Cash’s efforts had a tremendous impact upon the prospects of the Garway Road bid; her intervention on our behalf finally forced the PCT to adopt a more equitable and transparent decision making process that allowed the Garway Road GPs to present their case in a full and proper fashion.'

The Patients’ Action Group also expressed reservations about the decision making processes adopted by Westminster PCT and Joanne agreed with this assessment: 'Sadly this process has jeopardised the working relationship between our local GPs and Westminster PCT and we are pleased that both parties are now working to reconcile their differences. I hope the PCT will acknowledge that its initial consultation procedures were deeply flawed and will resolve to ensure that all of its members are made aware that their overriding responsibility is to patients and not to government ministers.'

Joanne Fights to Protect GP Services in Bayswater

Joanne today backed the concerns of the Garway Road Patients’ Action Group over Westminster Primary Care Trust’s (PCT) invitation to tender for the GP contract at Garway Road and the PCT’s decision to reduce the overall price of the contract.

The 17% cut in real cash terms would reduce spending in the area by £18 per head from £104 to £86, with such a cutback of funds likely to have a detrimental effect upon the quality of health care that the centre’s patients receive. Patients’ groups claim that the only way anyone can meet Westminster PCT’s monetary evaluation for the Garway Road GP contract is by reducing the salaries of the GPs, reducing the hours that the GPs will be working or even reducing the number of GPs in total. Or potentially all three.'

Commenting on the PCT’s decision, Joanne, who was recently elected as a patient’s representative on the Garway Road Health Centre Vacant Practice Panel said: 'Garway Road health centre provides a vital service for some of the most vulnerable people in the Bayswater and Westbourne area. The PCT’s decision to cut funds to the centre will put patient care at risk as GP services will have to be reduced to meet very tight budget conditions. The PCT’s proposal to cut the level of service at Garway Road beggars belief given the amount of taxpayers’ money that has been pumped into the National Health Service by Gordon Brown since 1997.'

The Garway Road Patients’ Action Group are also worried about the impact of Westminster PCT’s proposals on the relationship between Garway Road patients and their GP: 'in tendering the contract for Garway Road at a lower cost Westminster PCT is jeopardising the existing relationships between Garway Road’s patients and their GP’s. If new providers secure the contract the upheaval and disruption for patients with the arrival of new doctors, who lack any knowledge of our medical histories, will be immense.’

Westminster PCT has refused to reschedule the Vacant Practice Panel meeting, where the final decision for who will become the provider is to be made, so that Joanne can attend. Joanne commented: 'Given the overwhelming support that I received from the patients of Garway road, I feel it is only proper that I am given every opportunity to execute my duties as their representative.'

Open Letter to Ms Hamlyn- Vacant Practice Panel Member

Ms Hamlyn,

As you are aware I was nominated, and subsequently elected, to represent the interests of patients served by the Garway rd medical centre at the last Patient meeting. It is with this in mind that I am contacting you to convey the grave concerns that I have regarding your decision not to propose any alternative dates for the Vacant Practice Panel meeting. Given the overwhelming support that I received from the patients I feel that it is only proper that I am given every opportunity to execute my duties as their representative.

Furthermore, it was agreed at said Patient meeting that the Vacant Practice Panel would consist of three patients’ representatives and three PCT appointed members but I understand that this is no longer the case. I believe that the revised composition of the panel will hinder our attempts to successfully resolve this issue as it clearly fails to provide an equitable representation for the Garway rd tender. The presence of Mr Jenkins and Mr Wheeler is an issue of continuing unease given their vociferous and oft-repeated opposition to the Garway rd proposal.

By lowering the value of the GP contract you are apparently reducing the spending per head per patient within the Garway rd area; this decision can only have a detrimental impact upon the quality of health care that your patients will receive.

Additionally, there are a number of less tangible benefits associated with the retention of the current pool of doctors that will be lost if new practitioners are brought in. Over a period of time a bond of trust and a sense of community has been built up between the patients served by Garway rd and their doctors. This would be jeopardised by the introduction of doctors who are unfamiliar to their patients and who lack any personal knowledge of their medical histories. Within the medical community the professional relationships that currently operate between the incumbent Garway rd practitioners and other local health service providers would be severed and have to be rebuilt over time by a new team of doctors.

As an elected patients’ representative I am determined to ensure that the Westminster Primary Care Trust acts in the best interests of its patients and in accordance with its statutory obligations. I trust that I can rely on your full cooperation in this matter so that we may secure the optimum health care service for the people of the Garway rd area.

Yours sincerely,