Getty ImagesA GP management company that was criticised by patients, doctors and the first minister is handing back most of its surgeries in Wales, BBC Wales has learned.
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 BBC Wales has seen a letter outlining plans to return four more surgeries to Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, after it was announced last month it was handing back Brynmawr Medical Practice.
eHarley Street and the health board have been asked to comment.
A letter sent to surgery staff said Blaenavon Medical Practice, Aberbeeg Medical Practice, Bryntirion Surgery and Tredegar Medical Practice were being handed back to the health board because of “political, financial and operational pressures”.
Earlier this month, First Minister Eluned Morgan said she was “deeply concerned” about claims that doctors had not been paid and patients were unable to get appointments at surgeries managed by eHarley Street.
In November BBC Wales revealed locum doctors were refusing to work at Welsh surgeries managed by the company 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 has previously said they were “committed to addressing these challenges”.
Getty ImagesWelsh surgeries managed by eHarley Street:
- Brynmawr Medical Practice
- Blaenavon Medical Practice
- Pontypool Medical Centre
- Bryntirion Surgery
- Tredegar Medical Practice
- Aberbeeg Medical Practice
- Gelligaer Surgery
- Lliswerry Medical Centre
- The Corporation Road Surgery
Now, a total of five of the nine Welsh practices managed by eHarley Street are being handed back to the local health board.
The letter states Blaenavon Medical Practice and Aberbeeg Medical Practice will be managed by the health board from 1 March.
Bryntirion Surgery and Tredegar Medical Practice will be managed by the health board from 1 April.
The letter says: “Despite investing heavily into these practices – both financially and through our wider resources – we are no longer in a position to sustain further financial debt in trying to keep these contracts viable.”
The announcement follows a move by the company to rebrand its website from eHarley Street Primary Care Solutions, to eHarley Wales.
Doctors said they are still owed money after working at eHarley Street managed practices, with some locum GPs taking legal action to try and recover unpaid wages.
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.
Calls for eHarley Street inquiry
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.
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”.
Aneurin Bevan University Health Board had placed the surgeries under “enhanced monitoring” and said its focus was on working with the local community when it was announced Brynmawr Medical Practice was being handed back.
eHarley Street and Aneurin Bevan University Health Board have been asked to comment.
