GPs out of hours cover- death row shows systemic failure
The partner of a woman who died from septicaemia following flaws in out-of-hours GP care has said he is convinced it could happen again. Penny Campbell, 41, from Islington, north London, died in 2005 after consulting eight doctors in four days. A report said a major system failure in the service was a direct factor leading to Miss Campbell's death.
Her partner Angus MacKinnon has called for doctors found to have provided sub-standard care to be struck off.
Mr MacKinnon, 40, plans to write to the General Medical Council (GMC) about the conduct of four of the doctors. He is also pursuing civil action over the case.
He said he believed the same tragedy could happen again elsewhere in England.
"I've had dozens of people contact me, cases where people had really narrow escapes," he said.
The report identified weaknesses in the arrangements for out-of-hours care nationally.
The report said six GPs provided Miss Campbell with a "reasonable standard" of care but one did not adequately explore her symptoms to see if she had an acute illness.
Mr MacKinnon added: "If Tesco can open till midnight every night, why can't our GPs open till midnight every night?
"I don't want to spend the rest of my life feeling bitter about what happened to Penny. I'd like something positive to come out of it."
Both the Department of Health and Camidoc, the local GP out-of-hours service Miss Campbell contacted, have accepted the finding of the report and said they have accepted, and implemented already, many of the recommendations.
A spokesman for Camidoc said: "The death of Penny Campbell was a terrible tragedy and we at Camidoc continue to extend our sympathies to Miss Campbell's family and friends."
Rachel Tyndall, chief executive of Islington PCT, the lead commissioner for Camidoc, said the NHS trust would learn the lessons.
"There were failings in her care and the systems to guarantee quality," he said.
From:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6691365.stm
This of course is the same Out of Hours GPs service contract that Labour negotiated only last year which recieved the accolade of: BMA team 'stunned by GP contract' as a bit of a laugh
in Health Direct's post on 31 Jan 07.
GPs were so stunned by the terms offered to them when negotiating their new contract in 2004 that they thought it was a "bit of a laugh", a doctor has said. Dr Simon Fradd, who was one of British Medical Association's GP negotiators, said they were shocked by the approach taken by the labour government. They could not believe that the labour govt was stupid enough to offer GPs the chance not to do evening and weekend work for only a 6% pay cut, he said.
Her partner Angus MacKinnon has called for doctors found to have provided sub-standard care to be struck off.
Mr MacKinnon, 40, plans to write to the General Medical Council (GMC) about the conduct of four of the doctors. He is also pursuing civil action over the case.
He said he believed the same tragedy could happen again elsewhere in England.
"I've had dozens of people contact me, cases where people had really narrow escapes," he said.
The report identified weaknesses in the arrangements for out-of-hours care nationally.
The report said six GPs provided Miss Campbell with a "reasonable standard" of care but one did not adequately explore her symptoms to see if she had an acute illness.
Mr MacKinnon added: "If Tesco can open till midnight every night, why can't our GPs open till midnight every night?
"I don't want to spend the rest of my life feeling bitter about what happened to Penny. I'd like something positive to come out of it."
Both the Department of Health and Camidoc, the local GP out-of-hours service Miss Campbell contacted, have accepted the finding of the report and said they have accepted, and implemented already, many of the recommendations.
A spokesman for Camidoc said: "The death of Penny Campbell was a terrible tragedy and we at Camidoc continue to extend our sympathies to Miss Campbell's family and friends."
Rachel Tyndall, chief executive of Islington PCT, the lead commissioner for Camidoc, said the NHS trust would learn the lessons.
"There were failings in her care and the systems to guarantee quality," he said.
From:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6691365.stm
This of course is the same Out of Hours GPs service contract that Labour negotiated only last year which recieved the accolade of: BMA team 'stunned by GP contract' as a bit of a laugh
in Health Direct's post on 31 Jan 07.
GPs were so stunned by the terms offered to them when negotiating their new contract in 2004 that they thought it was a "bit of a laugh", a doctor has said. Dr Simon Fradd, who was one of British Medical Association's GP negotiators, said they were shocked by the approach taken by the labour government. They could not believe that the labour govt was stupid enough to offer GPs the chance not to do evening and weekend work for only a 6% pay cut, he said.
Labels: BMA, Doctors, health professionals, nhs cutbacks, NHS Opt Out
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