Care UK apologises to GPs after losing NHS 111 reports
Exclusive NHS 111 provider Care UK has apologised to GPs and offered them administrative support in updating their patient records after a technical fault meant 15,000 NHS 111 non-urgent post event messages were not received by practices.
The problem, which affected some calls from April until October 2014, resulted in 15,000 cases where the registered practice did not receive a record of the calls, which were all closed without the need for further intervention.
Care UK has told Pulse they immediately notified CCGs and NHS England when the fault was identified, that the assessment by senior clinicians indicates patients weren’t put at risk as a result, and that measures have been put in place to prevent a repeat.
After every call to NHS 111, the provider is meant to send a post event message detailing the call, even when there was no need for any action.
However, technical issues at Care UK meant that 15,000 cases were not logged with the patient’s practice.
All practices have now been given the reports, but the errors have led to a backlog for some practices in updating their own records.
Amanda Carey-McDermott, Care UK’s national NHS 111 director, said: ‘As soon as this matter came to light, we informed colleagues in local CCGs and NHS England and we worked with them closely to agree what action we needed to take to put it right.’
She added: ‘Due to a technical issue a number of PEMs had not been sent to GP practices as they should have been. These notifications only represent a very small proportion of the calls made to the NHS 111 services that we provide, and assessments by senior clinicians indicate that no patients were exposed to risk as a result.
‘We informed GPs with patients who were affected about what happened and have sent GP practices the missing notifications. We would like to apologise for any additional administration work that this issue created for GP practices.’
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A spokeperson for Care UK told Pulse: ‘We believe the number of messages [affected] to be around 15,000.’
GPC urgent care lead, Dr Charlotte Jones told Pulse that even where a 111 call has been closed without need for an intervention or appointment, the GP record must still note the call, particularly where the caller may have been a vulnerable patient.
Dr Jones told Pulse: ‘From the type of calls that were closed, it’s highly unlikely but not completely impossible that a call was closed and the odd vulnerable patient, the practice wouldn’t have known they’d been in contact, for example those on child protection registers.’
‘Care UK sent confirmed practices a letter, they weren’t absolving themselves of responsibility, and they did offer practices support if they felt they needed it.’
‘Most practice involved would have had less than ten patients who needed it, there were a few practices – probably larger ones- who would have had about 30 messages.
She added: ‘We [the GPC] felt that the approach that they had taken was pragmatic, it was appropriate, and that they had clearly put in place measures to prevent this from happening in the future.’
GPs have criticised the workload involved in dealing with PEMs, saying that they are not streamlined enough and risk important information being overlooked.
It comes in the same week that the president of the College of Emergency Medicine told the Commons health committee that NHS 111 was to blame for the increase in A&E attendance, as emergency services have been struggling to cope with winter pressures.
Readers' comments (11)
Anonymous | GP Partner16 Jan 2015 4:26pm
To err is human, but to completely foul up things requires computers and a private company (TM)
Cornwall OOH and date manipulation anyone?
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Anonymous | Practice Manager16 Jan 2015 5:09pm
I actually feel that Care UK should be congratulated on this initiative to reduce the administrative burden in practices (the only flaw in the plan was that they then found the reports and sent them....) Disclaimer: Friday afternoon tongue-in-cheek comment!
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Vinci Ho | GP Partner16 Jan 2015 6:50pm
'NHS 111 has been created to create more unnecessary workload '
I think this can be written on its head stone when it RIPs.
Tips to all the opposition parties for the general election : you are a fool not targeting NHS111 as the weakness point of the NHS watched by this government .
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Anonymous | GP Partner16 Jan 2015 10:46pm
No seriously, that data is no use to man or beast, Just stop sending out your reports. Has not affected how I have dealt with a single patient but takes valuable time to sift through. Not interested and I'm sure the practice will be totally disappointed to now received this out of date and totally unhelpful reports
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Chris Kenyon | GP Partner17 Jan 2015 0:17am
What a great service to primary care this "mistake" was, if only it happened more often. It would save enormous amounts of time & resources without the slightest detrimental effect on patient care. In fact it would improve care by reducing the ridiculous deciphering time currently required of the perplexed clinicians on whom these reports are imposed.
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Anonymous | Other healthcare professional17 Jan 2015 9:43am
111 last service on earth that I would use, by the time you have answered all their questions feeling extremely unwell, you realise it is quicker to dial 999.
More patient information being stored on yet another database … where does this intrusion stop?
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Rupen Kulkarni | GP Partner18 Jan 2015 6:38pm
It NHS111 were to fail... completely, the NHS crisis would magically end. opposition take heed.
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Anonymous | Other healthcare professional19 Jan 2015 9:24am
Have they apologised to each individual patient and assured them their records weren't sent to the wrong places?
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Anonymous | GP Partner19 Jan 2015 10:52am
staff (no medical qualifications) + risk averse algorithm = A+E collapse . Simple maths for simple politicians . Pay attention Mr Hunt.
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Anonymous | GP Partner19 Jan 2015 1:05pm
We complained about 111 sending patients with demand of 2 hr appt with GP
Letter reply says we are in this mess together
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