Embattled GP company hands back contract following staff pay concerns

A large GP-led company has handed back the contract for one of the surgeries it runs in Wales, following concerns around staff pay raised by GP locums and politicians.

Last month, several locum GPs said they were owed thousands of pounds from eHarley Street, an England-based company which is owned by two GP partners and which helps to run nine practices across Wales.

Welsh politicians raised concerns about the company, and it was later revealed that more than 40 GPs have been affected by the issue, with two ‘owed in excess of £300,000 from contracts that haven’t been fulfilled by eHarley Street’.

Now Aneurin Bevan University Health Board has said that the company is handing back the contract for the Brynmawr Medical Practice, and that ‘transitional arrangements’ will commence ‘immediately’.

It also added that eHarley Street ‘remains in enhanced monitoring’ for their other practices within the health board.

A spokesman for Aneurin Bevan University Health Board said: ‘We have received the resignation of the GP partnership between Dr Allinson and Dr Ahmed for the contract that they hold at Brynmawr Medical Practice.

‘We have agreed for the transitional arrangements to commence immediately with an official transfer date being 1 March 2025.

‘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.

‘We want to thank the community for their understanding and support as we transition these arrangements.

‘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.’

Pulse has contacted eHarley Street for comment.

When concerns were raised towards the end of last year, Aneurin Bevan University Health Board emphasised that the GMS contracts for the practices are held with Drs Jalil Ahmed and Jonathan Allinson as GP partners, rather than with eHarley Street Primary Care Solutions.

However, GPs and staff told Pulse that day-to-day management of the surgeries sits with eHarley Street, based in England, and the Welsh practices are listed under ‘our practices’ on the company’s website.

In December, the GP partners admitted to delays in payments, but claimed they are ‘isolated instances’ concerning a ‘small number of GPs’, and that it reflects ‘broader systemic pressures’ on general practice in Wales.

In response to criticism of their company eHarley Street in the Senedd at the beginning of the month, solicitors speaking on behalf of the partners said they are ‘in regular contact’ with the health board and ‘actively addressing the concerns’ raised by politicians.