Ambulance trust GP to be allowed to remain on performers list

Exclusive NHS England will allow a GP working exclusively for an ambulance trust to remain on the medical performers list.

A Performers List Decision Panel (PLDP) has backed Dr Phil Brown’s argument for staying on the performers list, saying that his work for North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) does amount to providing primary care services.

The decision follows pressure from the BMA, and Pulse reporting. Pulse exclusively revealed in May that Dr Brown had been threatened by NHS England with removal from the performers list due to only working for NEAS.

Dr Brown, a Newcastle GP, has been working for NEAS since 2017, providing out-of-hours clinical advice via NHS 111 to the public, paramedics and nursing teams.

But earlier this year, he was notified by NHS England’s Professional Standards that his current work as clinical advisor resulted in ‘an absence from NHS primary medical services’ from 2017, meaning that his removal from the performers list would be considered by a decision panel.

Dr Brown told Pulse that the whole process felt ‘unjust’ and induced ‘anxiety and distress’, as the removal would prevent him from working as a GP in the future, since any GP ‘offering primary care in an NHS setting’ is required to be registered on the performers list for England.

The BMA supported Dr Brown’s reasons to stay on the list and criticised the process, telling Pulse that it would be ‘unfair’ and ‘absurd’ for a GP working in a non-practice setting to face ‘barriers to securing work’ in the future, especially during the current unemployment crisis.

According to NHS regulations, NHS England can consider removal from the performers list ‘after a period of 12 months absence from NHS primary medical services’.

Now the PLDP determined that the services Dr Brown performs are provided in accordance with a NHS Standard contract via NEAS and ‘are NHS primary medical services’.

The panel decided to support Dr Brown’s ‘continued inclusion in the medical performers list’ as a result.

The members of the PLDP said they considered correspondence from NEAS, confirming that Dr Brown has provided services in accordance with the GP out of hours service and telephone advice to patients who reach a Speak to Primary Care outcome.

In a letter to Dr Brown, seen by Pulse, chair of the PLDP Dr Yasmin Khan said: ‘The services are provided in accordance with a NHS Standard contract via NEAS and are NHS primary medical services. The correspondence confirmed that you have undertaken elements of this work within the previous 24 months.

‘The members of the PLDP confirmed their agreement that the information received demonstrates that you are providing NHS primary medical services in accordance with the medical performers list inclusion.

‘As such, the members agreed that action in accordance with regulation 14 (5) is no longer relevant and are keen to support you in your continued inclusion in the medical performers list.’

Following the decision, Dr Brown told Pulse he was ‘glad’ the situation ‘has been resolved’, but   ‘disappointed’ that it took ‘over nine months and a lot of stress and anxiety to get there’.

He added: ‘The only silver lining would be that the PLDP demonstrated that they are still able to remain independent and demonstrate their integrity to stand up to and disagree with NHS England.’

BMA GP committee England deputy chair Dr Samira Anane said: ‘It’s great to see common sense prevail. It would have been both unfair and absurd for a GP, who has been providing urgent primary medical services working as a GP but in a non-practice setting, to be blocked from securing work in a practice in future by being removed from the performers list.

‘This would have been especially concerning at a time when there is a GP underemployment and recruitment crisis, and patients are facing challenges in seeing their GP.

‘GPs see undifferentiated patients presenting in multiple settings – those working for primary care organisations delivering 111 services happen to work in an urgent setting but are still practising primary medical services and as such still need to be kept on a primary medical performers list. We encourage any GP being asked to come off their performers list to contact the BMA urgently.’

Pulse has contacted NHS England for comment.

Pulse has previously revealed that GPs are working for free in order to stay on the performers list as a result of the unemployment crisis.