Date Published: 14 March 2007

NHS Confederation comments on PAC report on out of hours (UK)

Commenting on 'The Provision of Out of Hours Care in England' report published today by the Public Accounts Committee, Dr Gill Morgan, chief executive of the NHS Confederation which represents more than 90% of NHS organisations, said:

" It is important to highlight that the report on out-of-hours services published today by the Public Accounts Committee is largely based on the first year of implementation in 2005. It is therefore unfair to assume that this is an accurate reflection of the situation now.

_ It is worth noting however that even in the first year of the new contract, overall satisfaction rates with out-of-hours services were high - 74% of patients were quite or very satisfied."

Looking forward, Dr Morgan said:

" We now need to establish how out-of-hours services fit in to the wider urgent and unscheduled care agenda. Primary care trusts will be looking at the provision of out-of-hours services within the context of the broader urgent care strategy.

_ PCTs are working hard to improve value for money and ensure patients are treated by the right healthcare professional in the most appropriate place. Nowadays, PCTs, NHS Trusts, ambulance trusts, NHS Direct, social enterprises, as well as GPs, are all key players in the provision of this type of care."

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