GPs told they will not be paid for shifts after private company went into administration

Exclusive Sessional GPs who worked for a private company providing out-of-hours and NHS 111 services have been told they will not be paid for shifts completed last month, after the company went into administration.

Totally PLC, the parent company for Vocare, recently entered administration and at the beginning of this month was taken over by another private company, PHL Group Ltd, which provides services including general practice and urgent care.

But doctors who worked shifts for Totally PLC between 1 May and 5 June have now been told that PHL Group are ‘not required to make payment for invoices relating to work delivered before the transfer’.

PHL Group told Pulse it is ‘unable to make overdue payments owed to suppliers by a separate corporate entity that is now in administration’.

The company, who recently merged with private primary and urgent care provider Malling Health, said that ‘due to the administration process’, any outstanding payments prior to 6 June fall under the responsibility of the appointed administrator Ernst & Young (EY).

One doctor told Pulse that they expect to lose around £8,000 in payments due for shifts worked in May and early June as a result of the company’s stance.

In an email to sessional doctors, seen by Pulse, PHL Group chief executive officer Ross Brand said: ‘We want to address the challenges arising from the recent scenario, which involved Vocare entering administration and the sale of business and assets to PHL Group.

‘In the spirit of openness and transparency, we are writing to clarify the treatment of historic invoices you have sent to Vocare, and to provide reassurance about the way forward following the acquisition of business and assets by PHL Group.

‘This is to confirm that PHL Group are not required to make payment for invoices relating to work delivered before the transfer (on 6 June 2025).

‘Any work undertaken since that date will be honoured, however we may need to work with you to ensure your invoices are submitted to the correct place and that we have an agreement in place which protects both you and PHL Group.

‘We recognise this news may be disappointing and could place you in a difficult position. While we cannot influence the outcome of the administration process, we want to be clear, transparent and supportive during this period.’

A PHL Group spokesperson told Pulse: ‘PHL Group appreciates the difficult situation suppliers have faced prior to the transition period, and we wish to express sincere sympathy for the disappointment suppliers have faced.

‘However, any outstanding payments in the urgent care division prior to the administration fall under the responsibility of the appointed administrator Ernst & Young (EY) and suppliers will have received information from EY regarding the administration process and how to submit invoices.

‘PHL Group is unable to make overdue payments owed to suppliers by a separate corporate entity that is now in administration.

‘We have worked closely with all our suppliers to provide support and assistance where possible, and we remain committed to doing all we can to support our suppliers in the coming period.

‘We will work hard to build strong, long-lasting partnerships going forward with both our customers and suppliers that are grounded in trust and collaboration. 

‘Our focus continues to be on ensuring the continuity of care for patients while supporting a highly skilled and dedicated workforce who are passionate about caring for their patients.’

PHL Group said that the transition has been ‘carefully managed’ by ‘working closely’ with NHS England and local NHS trusts and commissioners to ensure ‘there is no disruption to patients’ with all existing services ‘continuing to operate as normal’.

‘Individuals will continue to receive personalised care from the same dedicated teams they know and trust. As a result, over 600 jobs have also been safeguarded,’ the statement added.

EY told Pulse that administrators have ‘contacted impacted employees with details of how they can make a claim from the Redundancy Payment Service’.

A spokesperson added: ‘This includes individuals who were made redundant or who have recently left the Group and had outstanding payments.

‘There is a separate process for impacted contractors who will need to make a claim as an unsecured creditor by contacting [email protected].’

According to EY, ‘the loss of a significant contract earlier this year’ had impacted Totally PLC’s trading performance.

Last year, Pulse revealed exclusively that GPs working for Totally PLC were left ‘outraged’ and ‘demoralised’ when the company ‘threatened to terminate’ those who did not meet a performance goal of three to four cases per hour.

GPs working for the company commented to Pulse that they thought this was a ‘blunt tool’ for performance management which they feared could have negative impacts on patient safety.