The BMA is calling on the Government to give GPs assurance of its plans should Capita collapse after the ‘extremely concerning’ 40% drop in Capita’s share price today.
Capita has provided primary care support services since 2015, but the BMA has accused it of ’multiple failings’ since it took over, including the handling of patient records and providing payments to practices, and says there has been little improvement since it started.
The company issued a profit warning this morning, with its chief executive saying it had become ’too complex’ and ’driven by a short-term focus’
Dr Richard Vautrey the chair of the BMA’s GP Committee said: ‘This news is extremely concerning, but not altogether surprising considering the continued warnings the BMA has given over Capita’s shambolic running of backroom services in GP practices throughout the country.’
He is meeting NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens to discuss his concerns.
Earlier this month he wrote to Mr Stevens about his concerns over Capita.
Dr Vautrey said that GPs will be ‘rightly worried about the future of these services – which have a real impact on patient care’.
He called on the government to give assurance of the plans it has to protect patients ‘should Capita suddenly be unable to deliver’.
Dr Vautrey said the collapse earlier this month of Carillion, which was a major public sector supplier showed the kind of problems that can happen ‘when public services are outsourced to a private company’.
He added: ‘This must not be allowed to happen again.’
Jonathan Lewis, Chief Executive Officer of Capita, said today: ’In my first two months I have begun a thorough review of Capita – its structure, its leadership, its contracts and its financial position. There is a lot to be excited about: talented people, a blue-chip customer base, great technology and the ability to deliver value adding services.’
He said he has started a transformation programme and added the company ‘is too complex, it is driven by a short-term focus and lacks operational discipline and financial flexibility’.
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