Cornwall out of hours GP contract praised by customer

Good performance of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly out-of-hours doctors service over the Christmas and New Year period has today been welcomed by the NHS Primary Care Trust (PCT) Board, marking a significant improvement on difficulties faced in the previous year.

The PCT Board today received the performance report for the Serco Out of Hours Service for December. The report demonstrates that the service provided in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly is well above the national required standard and that Serco is amongst one of the best performing services in the country. The service received in excess of 14,000 calls during December with almost 6,000 being taken over the holiday period.

Welcoming the good service that has been offered to local residents, Director of Commissioning at the PCT, Steve Moore, said: “The service has responded very well to the difficulties we faced around this time last year by consistently improving performance to such a high level. Having a safe and responsive out of hours doctors service is a vital part of our healthcare system. The PCT and Kernow Urgent Care Services have worked well to deliver these improvements, with key contributions from organisations like the Patients’ Forum who helped identify how we could best strengthen services.”

Dr Richard Clapp, Local Medical Director for Serco, said: “We have worked hard to overcome the difficulties we faced this time last year and are proud to be among the best performers in the country. Our doctors are committed to provide responsive, high quality care, as the service we provide is a vital resource for the local community. We planned carefully for the Christmas and New Year period and were able to maintain good levels of service thoughout. Though very satisfied with the service we are providing we will not be complacent and will always seek to make improvements where we can”.