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Islington Tribune - by TOM FOOT
Published: 2 May 2008

Fear that doctors’ call-outs will go private

CAMPAIGNERS have warned that profit will be put before patients’ needs if Islington’s out-of-hours doctors’ service is put out to private tender.
Camidoc, a not-for-profit co-operative, has provided clinicians on call to hundreds of thousands of NHS patients in Islington for more than 12 years.
But campaigners fear it is likely to be replaced by a private firm if health chiefs put the contract, believed to be worth
£5 million a year, out to tender. Islington’s Wendy Savage, chairwoman of the Keep NHS Public Campaign, said: “I am horrified that Camidoc is being put out for tender. It is completely unnecessary as it has been run very well by all accounts and by local doctors.”
Camidoc chief executive Michael Golding said: “We are not afraid of competition. All I would ask is that we are allowed to compete on a level playing field and that the PCT [Primary Care Trust] resists any ideological drive from above to bring in big private sector providers.
“My own belief is that services staffed by local clinical and non-clinical staff should actually be given preference, as their knowledge of the communities they serve is invaluable in ensuring the needs of a diverse population are properly met. There is always a cost to change and it is not always measured in money.”
Camden PCT, which awarded Camidoc a contract to cover five north London boroughs, including Islington, has said it cannot guarantee the service will not go to tender.

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