Doctors surgery to be taken back by health board

A GP management company that was criticised by patients, doctors and Wales' first minister is handing back the keys to one of its doctors surgeries in Wales.

Safety, staffing and supply concerns at surgeries managed by Leicestershire-based eHarley Street were revealed by BBC Wales at the end of last year - prompting criticism from Eluned Morgan.

Now Aneurin Bevan University Health Board has said it will take over running of Brynmawr Medical Practice from the beginning of March.

eHarley Street have been asked to comment.

Aneurin Bevan University Health Board said it was focusing on "working closely" with surgery staff and the local community.

Dr Mark Wells, clinical lead at Brynmawr Medical Practice in Blaenau Gwent said, "this is fantastic news for Brynmawr", but added he was not sure about any other practices.

He said he believed it would take six months for the surgery to "stabilise", but that staff are "delighted".

Earlier this month, Ms Morgan said she was "deeply concerned" about claims that doctors had been unpaid and that patients were unable to get appointments at surgeries managed by the company.

In November BBC Wales revealed locum doctors were refusing to work at Welsh surgeries managed by eHarley Street, because of claims they were owed around £250,000 in unpaid wages.

Doctors also warned of "dangerous" staffing levels and "potentially catastrophic" supply shortages at practices supported by the GP management company.

All of the claims were denied by eHarley Street, who at the time said it did "not hold any contracts for General Medical Services (GMS) in Wales".

Aneurin Bevan University Health Board also denied holding any contracts with the company.

Welsh surgeries managed by eHarley Street:

• Brynmawr Medical Practice
• Blaenavon Medical Practice
• Pontypool Medical Centre
• Bryntirion Surgery, Bargoed
• Tredegar Health Centre
• Aberbeeg Medical Practice
• Gelligaer Surgery, Hengoed
• Lliswerry Medical Centre, Newport
• The Corporation Road Surgery, Cardiff.

Now, BBC Wales understands eHarley Street will pull out of managing Brynmawr Medical Practice from 1 March, following a meeting between staff, company representatives and Aneurin Bevan health board.

But doctors have told BBC Wales there has been no "direct contact or reassurance" that money still owed to locum GPs will be paid.

Dr Samantha Jenkins, who was owed more than £10,000 after working at Blaenavon Medical Practice, in Torfaen, and Brynmawr Medical Practice said, "we have all been left high and dry".

She said: "There has been no correspondence from the health board to affected locum doctors throughout all of this".

Aneurin Bevan health board has been asked to comment.

Previously eHarley Street said there was a plan to pay outstanding wages to doctors.

Senedd Member Alun Davies has asked the Senedd's health committee to investigate how eHarley Street became involved in managing doctors surgeries in Wales.

He said he intends to ask the auditor general for Wales to investigate the use of any public funds.

In December there were demands for an inquiry into eHarley Street after patients, some with terminal illnesses, said they were having difficulty accessing appointments and treatments.

"It frightens me - I don't feel safe," said Katrina Hughes, 69, a terminal cancer patient who struggled to get an appointment or see the same doctor at Brynmawr Medical Practice in Blaenau Gwent.

"There's no continuity of care at all," she said.

She was among around 100 people who attended a public meeting to discuss services at the practice - many said they struggled to get appointments or were waiting for medication and test results.

Doctors said they were taking legal action to recover their unpaid wages.

In January several Senedd Members criticised the service being provided by eHarley Street-managed surgeries in Wales.

In a previous statement the partners who run eHarley Street and the surgeries it manages said they faced "significant financial constraints" but were "committed to addressing these challenges".

A spokesman for Aneurin Bevan health board said it had received eHarley Street's resignation at Brynmawr, with "an official transfer date" set for 1 March.

"Our focus now is on working closely with the staff at Brynmawr Medical Practice and the local community to provide good access to quality primary care services within the area," the spokesman added.

"The GP partnership remains in enhanced monitoring for their other practices within the Health Board and we will continue to work closely with them to ensure primary care services are sustainable and meet the needs of our patients."