Deadline looms for awarding of Shropshire's out-of-hours GP contract as commissioner insists 'we are listening’

Councillors told a meeting at Shirehall in Shrewsbury that they have never seen such a public reaction after the ‘intent to award’ the contract to a company called Medvivo was announced.

Councillors from across Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, sitting on the area’s joint health overview and scrutiny committee on Monday (February 10), said they want ‘reassurances’ over the move.

Dr Lorna Clarson, chief medical officer for NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, told the committee that any of the six bidders for the contract, including Shropdoc, has until this Friday (February 14) to challenge the decision.

The contract will not be handed over until the end of the "standstill" period and any possible challenges.

Dr Clarson said she was ‘legally prohibited’ from discussing the contract until the challenge period had ended. If there is a challenge it could mean the process being extended for “weeks or months".

But she added that she had not stopped receiving messages since the decion was announced on February 3.

She also spoke out about ‘misinformation’ circulating about the contract.

Dr Clarson said rumours that there had been “no clinical engagement” were “absolutely not true".

The meeting was told that local GPs had supported Shropdoc which meant they could not be involved in the contracting decision. But she said a GP “from outside Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin” was involved in giving a clinical input.

“We did that because the GP board was supportive of the provider,” she said.

She said that it was “absolutely incorrect” to say that the decision was about cost-saving.

Dr Clarson said she appreciated the strength of feeling about the issue but added “we cannot get this wrong”.

“We are not looking for spare pounds from behind the sofa,” she said. “It is on the high quality of care."

She revealed to the meeting that the contract with Shropdoc had actually ended in June 2024 but had been extended.

“Shropdoc was aware of this and we had to be open with them,” she said.

She told the meeting that it could not be extended again and they had to act - though the decision was "unbiased" and based on evidence where the “existing base” was the minimum provision.

After the meeting Dr Clarson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that this was because contracting rules changed abruptly.

The decision has been criticised over a “lack of consultation” with the community.

David Sandbach, a former chief executive of the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford expressed his concerns over the new preferred provider. He said the procurement process was meant to be for small businesses and that the preferred provider was part of a “multi-national company".

After the meeting Dr Clarson said she was not in a position to clarify this.

During the meeting she told councillors: “I will be surprised if we do not receive representations.”

Committee co-chair Councillor Fiona Doran (Labour, Donnington) said the committee was “seeking reassurances from the Integrated Care Board that quality will remain the same if not improve”.

Councillor Derek White (Labour, Madeley & Sutton Hill) said Shropdoc is “the only part of the system that seems to working and has now been screwed up".

Committee co-chair Geoff Elner (Conservative, Ellesmere Urban) said he was not sure why the decision was made but it was a good one.

“If it’s not broken, don’t fix it,” he said, urging the health commissioners to “please listen to us".

Dr Clarson told the committee that she was hearing what was being said but they “have to be fair to the people who have applied, and it would be unfair to deviate from that".

“We hear the concern and that we need to work closely with you on this,” she said.

Mentions were made of what would happen if the preferred bidder pulls out of the process because of all the adverse publicity.

The official said she could not answer that question but Mr Sandbach said the procurement process would have to start again.

Dr Clarson revealed that 11 potential bidders had expressed an interest and six had their bids ‘scored’.

She said that the long-serving provider was “well-loved” but it would be “unfair” not to follow the proper process.

“We are listening,” she added. “We promise we will take you with us on this journey.”

When the committee discussed why the decison had come “out of the blue” Dr Clarson admitted: “We need to get into the habit of telling you what is happening.”

NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin said that once it is able to share further information and confirm the new provider, it will “communicate this widely to patients, the public, our partners and stakeholders".