The GP-led company eHarley Street has handed back four more of its Welsh GP contracts following ‘financial challenges’.
At the end of last month, the England-based company, which is owned by two GP partners and which helped to run eight practices across Wales, handed back the contract for Brynmawr Medical Practice, after concerns around staff pay were raised by GP locums and politicians.
Now Aneurin Bevan University Health Board said that four additional GMS contracts will be handed back by the company.
A health board spokesman told Pulse: ‘Following the announcement that Brynmawr Medical Practice will be handed back to the health board, we have now also received the resignation of the GP partnership between Dr Allinson and Dr Ahmed for the contracts that they hold at four more practices – Aberbeeg Medical Centre, Blaenavon Medical Practice, Bryntirion Surgery and Tredegar Medical Practice.’
The practices in Aberbeeg and Blaenavon will be managed by the health board from 1 March, while the practices in Bryntirion and Tredegar will be taken back from 1 April.
The health board also added that the GP partnership ‘remains in enhanced monitoring’ for the remaining two practices they hold contracts for in the area.
It added: ‘We are continuing to work closely with the staff at all the practices involved, as well as with the local communities they serve to ensure they receive good access to quality primary care services within their local areas.’
Last month, several locum GPs told Pulse they were owed thousands of pounds from eHarley Street, and Welsh politicians raised concerns about the company.
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’.
The health board has since published a report into the issue, which acknowledged ‘financial challenges’ experienced by the company and the ‘failure to pay locum staff’.
It said that the health board continues to receive communication from locums with regards to ‘outstanding payments’, the responsibility for which ‘rests with the GP partnership’.
According to the health board, ‘a number of payments’ have been made to staff, but ‘significant outstanding payments’ remain.
The report added: ‘Due to ongoing cash flow constraints, the health board is aware that the partnership is prioritising payment for GP locums that continue to work at the practices over historical debts.
‘However, they are having difficulties in making all of these current payments which further compounds the level of outstanding debt.
‘The health board has been made aware of outstanding invoices in relation to suppliers, which the GP partners are working to resolve.’
The BMA is supporting GPs affected by the issue and has encouraged members to contact the union for support and representation.
A BMA spokesperson told Pulse: ‘The BMA is considering all options and will not rule out legal action in individual cases, if necessary. We would encourage affected members to contact us for support and representation to navigate any employment matters.’
Pulse has contacted eHarley Street for comment.
When concerns were raised towards the end of last year, the 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.
Disgraceful that locums not paid.
If you looked under the hood of the nationally broken GP service, you’d see the sh*te the 2004 contract enabled. Dodgy tendering practices, bullying some GP practices by local NHSE/boards to takeover other failing or dying practices under terrible APMS deals cheapening costs, rotten apples GPs colluding as they see asset stripping money-making opportunities, employment of asymmetrically powerless locums and salaried GPs who shoulder the day to day workload and blame and easy to scapegoat when the proverbial hits the fan…
It’s as if successive neoliberally blinded Govts wanted primary care to fail.
And why is that both Tory and Labour push deregulation for the corporates, but break the backs of doctors, nurses, teachers, police etc with mad over-regulation. Again, it’s like the neolibs want to destroy the public sector, a greedy sell-out of our values.