Serco's GP out-of-hours service in Cornwall 'substandard', say MPs

Serco's GP out-of-hours service in Cornwall 'substandard', say MPs Serco, the leading private contractor of services to the public sector, has come under attack for its "substandard" GP out-of-hours service in Cornwall, in a report published by the influential parliamentary public accounts committee on Thursday.

The company falsified figures on its performance 252 times, making it look better than it was, so that serious failings in the service only came to light thanks to whistleblowers, MPs say, yet the company's response was "bullying and heavy-handed".

The NHS primary care trust that had oversight of the contract was "deeply ineffective" in writing and managing it, did not impose any penalties when the failings were discovered, and instead made bonus payments to Serco even though it fell well short of required standards. The Guardian

See also:

• GP service had 'bullying culture' BBC News