MP probes doctor delay

Now MP Sir Michael Spicer is calling on the South Worcestershire Primary Care Trust to tackle problems with the out-of-hours GP service.

When Mr Atkinson, 79, from Malvern, fell ill with vomiting and diarrhoea on Saturday, January 14, his wife Wendy called the service at about 4am.

She was first told to give him Imodium and later to take him to Malvern Community Hospital. There a duty doctor saw him and prescribed Imodium and a rehydration powder.

Mr Atkinson was so weak that when his wife got him home, the postman and a neighbour had to help her get him into the house.

As the sickness and diarrhoea continued, Mr Atkinson was unable to keep tablets or water down. He got no better and his wife called 999 around noon.

The paramedic thought Mr Atkinson needed an injection to stop the sickness and was concerned his blood pressure was low. He called the primary care line himself, then left at 1.30pm, confident a doctor would arrive soon.

But despite repeated calls by Mrs Atkinson, no doctor came until 6.30pm - at one stage she was told there only one doctor covering the Malvern-Evesham area.

Mr Atkinson was taken to hospital and has since made a complete recovery.

MP Sir Michael Spicer, who told the Gazette he had heard similar stories from the Evesham area, has taken up the case.

He has written to PCT chief executive Paul Bates asking whether these are isolated cases or due to a lack of doctors.

"If this is the case, the question arises as to whether this is the result of inadequate funding," he said. "If so, is the PCT giving the wrong priorities, are the government providing insufficient finance or is it that the new GP contracts are failing to provide an appropriate emergency service?"

PCT spokesman Janet Ferguson said Mr Bates would be replying to Sir Michael's letter. She said national guidelines state that patients should be seen by a GP within one hour for emergency calls, two for urgent and six for non-urgent calls.