The Herald (Glasgow)
October 31, 2003
Letters

Out-of-hours cover

ON October 29 the Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Bill was introduced into the Scottish Parliament which will effectively end out-of-hours cover by GPs in Scotland, to be replaced with whatever measure local health boards are able to come up with. In many cases this will be a telephone helpline offering medical advice or a visit to the already stretched accident and emergency unit of the nearest hospital.
The bill as worded allows local NHS boards to contract with "any person" to provide primary care services. In it defines "any person" as including companies where at least one of the shareholders is a GP or other health professional. This would allow the NHS to contract with private providers to provide primary care services.
The first that many Scots will know of this change in NHS cover will be when phoning a doctor only to be told that there is no longer any obligation on doctors to provide a service to their patients out of surgery hours, or when they notice that private contractors are now providing medical services. Why will there be widespread ignorance of such fundamental changes to the NHS? Because the Scottish media did not see fit to report it.
The Scottish Socialist Party was the only party to seek to amend this bill. Both the SNP and the Scottish Green Party dutifully lined up with the executive and voted for legislation which will be a further nail in the coffin of free medical care delivered at the point of need.

Carolyn Leckie, MSP,
The Scottish Parliament.