New managers of NHS service reassure GP practice patients that it’s ‘business as usual’

Company news

Aug 31, 2012

Local NHS commissioners have selected Care UK as a partner to run the Grainger GP practices in Newcastle from 1^st September and Care UK’s regional director Mike Frayne has reiterated that Care UK’s involvement in the practices will fully uphold the quality, accessibility and ethos of these much loved NHS services.

Mike Frayne, who will have overall responsibility for the Newcastle service, said: “We already run 12 GP practices on behalf of the NHS across the UK. Patients at those practices get all the usual services such as routine appointments, home visits, immunisations and clinics delivered by well qualified, permanent employees – all on the NHS. And this is exactly what we will be doing in Newcastle. The majority of employees at Grainger going forward will be people who are already part of the Grainger team; ensuring the quality and continuity of care that we know patients value.”

To ensure that patients get good access to doctors, Care UK has supplemented the existing team by offering permanent contracts to two more GPs who many patients will already know as they have served the practice well in recent months as locums.

Mike Frayne continued: “We don’t believe in a ‘one size fits all’ approach to the provision of GP services. We understand what our patients expect and need and we tailor each practice to its local community. Over the past few weeks we’ve got to know the existing Grainger practice team very well and we’re now really looking forward to meeting the patients.”

“Our involvement is no different to a traditional family GP surgery where the senior partners are running a small business on behalf of the NHS.”

Care UK already has a successful track record of delivering services in Newcastle as it set up and ran the Newcastle walk-in centre, which provided high quality services to people across the city for several years. Care UK also has a number of care homes in the North East. Teresa McKillop, who ran the Newcastle Walk-In service for Care UK, has been working on the transfer of the Grainger practices and we envisage that her local knowledge and involvement will be invaluable in developing services going forward.

Across the country, Care UK has more than 2,500 dedicated health care colleagues providing a range of over 50 different services as a trusted partner of the NHS. The 12 GP practices it already runs on behalf of the NHS are in places as geographically diverse as Liverpool, Halifax and Birmingham. As well as GP services, Care UK also runs treatment centres, minor injury units and walk in health centres for the NHS.

Mike Frayne concluded: “I encourage patients at the Grainger GP practices to judge us by their experiences with our doctors and nurses. The NHS in Newcastle trusts us to uphold their high standards and to deliver a high quality service and I’m confident that we will deliver the professional, friendly and responsive local health service that the people of Benwell and Elswick expect and deserve.”