First Minister Eluned Morgan has criticised a private firm running GP surgeries over “absolutely unacceptable” reports of staff being bullied and not paid. eHarley Street, which took over several Welsh general practices last year, was slammed by politicians in the Senedd as a “disgrace” and accused of not giving “a damn about the people they’re supposed to serve”.
The England-based company – which manages eight surgeries in the Aneurin Bevan health board area, one in Cardiff, and 15 in England – is facing calls for an inquiry into how it won the contracts. Concerns were first raised in the Senedd last month by Alun Davies, Blaenau Gwent Labour MS, who said there had been a “serious deterioration” of services at Brynmawr Medical Practice since last spring when Aneurin Bevan health board awarded the contract to eHarley Street’s directors.
Mr Davies added: “I also understand that eHarley Street owes doctors and locums up to £250,000 and many doctors are now, understandably, refusing to work for eHarley Street and refusing to work in Brynmawr. I further understand that the company has significant debts to HMRC and to suppliers. On top of this the practice manager was summarily dismissed last week. So this company with questionable business practices can’t find doctors and can’t pay its bills.”
More Senedd members spoke out against eHarley Street on Tuesday as questions were raised over its delivery of GP services in Caerphilly, Blaenau Gwent, Newport, and Torfaen. One of those was Hefin David, Caerphilly Labour MS, who said: “Patients have noted a deterioration in service since they took over. Staff, including GPs, have not been paid on time and the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board has not given us convincing answers thus far… We think it’s time that the Welsh Government got involved.”
Delyth Jewell, Plaid Cymru MS for South Wales East, questioned what due diligence was carried out by the health board before handing eHarley Street a raft of GP surgery contracts last year. She said practices at Bargoed, Hengoed, Brynmawr, and Tredegar have been plagued with issues. “Patients are finding it difficult to get appointments,” she said. “There are doctors who have not been paid by this company. Some are owed thousands of pounds. Now I do worry that this model, if it’s not checked, could represent privatisation of GP surgeries by the back door.”
Mr Davies pointed out that the firm’s bosses Dr Jalil Ahmed and Dr Jonathan Allinson are directors of more than 70 companies, mostly named eHarley Street or some variation of it. “What we cannot have are primary care services being sold off to people who don’t give a damn about the people they’re supposed to serve,” he said. “The failure of eHarleyStreet is a disgrace… The way that staff have been let down and bullied by eHarley Street is appalling. We cannot stand by and allow that to happen in this country. We cannot stand by and see our primary services privatised in this way and we cannot stand by when services are failing.”
Mrs Morgan suggested the surgeries could be brought back under health board control. “It’s absolutely unacceptable not to pay people for a job that they’ve carried out,” she said. “That goes beyond the pale and breaks every rule in the book. So there’s got to be a consequence to that and I’m sure that that is something that will be raised with the chief executive [of Aneurin Bevan health board] soon. I know they did go through a procurement process. We do often find it difficult to recruit to some of these areas so I think we’ve got to be realistic about who is willing to take on these practices. But in many health boards what happens is that the health board themselves take over the management and they employ GPs directly. So there are alternative models that, perhaps, should be explored if this one doesn’t sort itself out.”
Ms Jewell asked whether the First Minister would support calls for an inquiry looking at “what needs to change to protect our NHS services from these companies who seem to care more for profit than for providing care”. But Mr Davies argued an inquiry was unnecessary, adding: “What we need now is action from Welsh Government and the health board to ensure that our constituents have the services that they deserve.”
Mrs Morgan said: “I think there needs to be an understanding that GP surgeries have always been independent, and, actually, what’s been happening in recent years is that the health boards, when they are failing, are actually taking them over because there is a responsibility to make sure that that provision is in the community. But, on the whole, most of them are run independently So to have effectively what is seen as a private company – that is the model. Now what I’m not happy with is a model that is effectively run at a distance where contracts are not respected.”
The First Minister said health secretary Jeremy Miles was due to discuss the issue at a meeting next week with Aneurin Bevan health board. She went on: “I know the health board is providing support to the practices during a transition period. I know that they’re regularly meeting with the managers and the GP partners to seek assurances on contractual compliance with their general medical services contract. So those conversations are happening but if things don’t improve then of course we will expect there to be a consequence.”
One patient claimed to WalesOnline that the Brynmawr surgery has been letting down the community. “There are incredibly long wait times when trying to make appointments,” he alleged. “I have experienced a three-hour wait. It is now common to wait two hours.
“Appointments are limited greatly due to a revolving door of doctors working at the surgery. If you do manage to get an appointment you need to arrive at least 20 minutes prior due to only one member of staff at reception in a customer-facing role at the desk. It is common for people to wait in line for 50 minutes, missing appointments.
“My partner was told she was ‘lucky’ to have bloods taken to monitor her diabetes by the nurse working there. This is due to a lack of funds available to purchase basic equipment like needles, bandages, and syringes. The nurse who took the bloods explained that morale was rock-bottom and that doctors refused to work there due to the private company not paying them.
“There is a pharmacy on site which is rarely stocked appropriately for patients collecting medication. Orders can be placed and stock delivered within 72 hours but this leaves people regularly short of medication. In an area where economic deprivation is still keenly felt, and the social and health implications that go hand in hand, the community is experiencing neglect.”
The Welsh surgeries contracted to eHarley Street’s directors are Lliswerry Medical Centre in Newport, Gelligaer Surgery in Hengoed, Bryntirion Surgery in Bargoed, Brynmawr Medical Practice, Blaenavon Medical Practice, Pontypool Medical Centre, Tredegar Health Centre, Aberbeeg Medical Practice, and the Corporation Road surgery in Cardiff.
WalesOnline has approached the firm and Aneurin Bevan health board for comment. eHarley Street’s solicitors Green & Olive said in a statement to the BBC: “Our clients have advised that the partnership is in regular contact with the Aneurin Bevan health board and is actively addressing the concerns raised by the Senedd. Our clients’ focus remains on finding solutions that are amicable and satisfactory for all stakeholders.”
The firm told the BBC that the eHarley Street partners named on the GP surgery contracts “would very much welcome a meeting with the First Minister or any of the Senedd members to discuss any concerns they may have”. The partners previously said they were offering “on average one session of clinician time per 200 patients” which was the “agreed level of clinical cover” while they were facing “significant financial constraints”.
The partners also accused locum agencies of “driving up prices to unsustainable levels” in Wales but claimed there was a plan “to ensure all overdue payments are made in full”. They claimed to the BBC that they had invested £383,000 in the Welsh practices but still faced “eye-watering losses”.
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