Paramedics covering for GP night service (From York Press)

Paramedics covering for GP night service

9:41am Monday 23rd January 2012 in Health & Wellbeing By Richard Catton, richard.catton@thepress.co.uk

INCREASED sickness levels and maternity leave are being blamed after North Yorkshire health chiefs admitted drafting in paramedics to help cover a town’s out-of-hours GP service.

Harrogate & District NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Selby’s night time emergency GP service, has assured patients the situation is not a cost-cutting measure and pledged the situation will be reviewed shortly.

However, the trust said the arrangement could be permanent.

The issue came to light after one concerned health worker in Selby contacted The Press to say that 19 of the overnight GP shifts had no cover between January and the end of March.

They said the situation meant Selby residents phoning for an out-of-hours GP could be left waiting for a doctor from York if they called on of the uncovered shifts.

However, a spokesman for the Harrogate trust, said all patients who call the service would still receive an initial assessment by a GP over the phone, as has always been the case.

“Following this initial assessment, any patient that needs to be visited at home will receive a visit,” the spokesman said.

“However, in order to address some challenges arising from increased levels of sickness and maternity leave within the GP out-of-hours service, the trust has been making use of highly-skilled emergency care practitioners, such as paramedics, to make some home visits. Any case that the emergency care practitioner visits, will still receive the input of a GP.

“The trust can reassure people that this system was not brought in as a cost-saving measure and is being closely monitored with patient safety remaining paramount.”

The trust said should the system be found to have worked effectively, staff will be “fully consulted before any final decision is made on continuing with these arrangements in the longer term”.