This decision was perhaps inevitable given how out of touch the Shrewsbury and Telford & Wrekin Integrated Care Service seems to be with local needs. We saw this at the meeting on Ludlow Community Hospital on Tuesday evening, chaired by mayor Beverley Waite. When a letter from health chiefs referred to services such as maternity at the hospital, unaware that they have withdrawn support for this service. No health executives came to the meeting to answer questions.
Save our NHS are organising a meeting to launch a campaign to save ShropDoc. It’s at Oscars, Ludlow Assembly Rooms, tonight (Thursday) at 7pm.
The Integrated Care Service has decided to axe ShropDoc and replace it with Medvivo Group, a for profit company based in Chippenham, Wiltshire. Medvivo is owned by Eight Roads, an American venture capital company. Medvivo specialises in telecare. It is rated Outstanding by the Care Quality Commission.
Shropdoc is a not for profit company. Established in 1996, Shropdoc is organised and governed by GPs for the purpose of providing medically necessary care to the population of Shropshire and surrounding counties out-of-hours (OOH) on behalf of its members. Shropdoc has over 200 GP members comprising GPs from Shropshire and Powys, with a smaller number from adjacent areas. Around 250 members of staff work in a wide variety of roles. It is rated Outstanding by the CQC.
The value of the three year OOH contract, which is extendable to four years was estimated at £36 million. The value of the contract to be awarded is £32.5 million.
Given that both services are rated outstanding, it is likely the major factor in the decision to award the contract to Medvivo was price.
The loss of a major local service to Shropshire is a major blow. Local GPs understand local patients needs and the difficulties of finding and getting to some locations. It remains to be seen in Medvivo recruits local GPs and health professionals for the service or whether they will be recruited from further afield.
If the new service is a direct equivalent to the same standard, how much does it matter that it’s a new provider? But that’s IF.
Hi Patrick,
One factor that we can easily forget is that once a local service is lost it is almost always lost for good, so a “low ball” initial tender to destroy the opposition is then followed by a much higher price when the contract comes up for renewal. It’s a standard tactic for venture capital, and has a long history going back to the days of the “robber barons” and Standard Oil in the USA. In the UK, similar tactics were used to destroy council owned bus services.
As they say in Sainsburys, When its gone, it’s gone.
The problem is is the lack of local focus. We don’t know much about this contract. Whether it will use locums rather than local GPs. Whether it will use more telecare. So the IF is BIG!
Has the deal actually been signed ?
If yes ?????
No. the ICS is minded to approve and is presumably conducting negotiations on the details of the contract