Over 70 Rainham residents who are patients of the Rainham Village Health Centre attended a meeting at Rainham Library on 3 April to voice their concerns over local health care failings.

The meeting was organised Fay Hough, Chair of the local Patients Participation Group (PPG), in conjunction with Jon Cruddas MP. Invitations went to NHS North East London Foundation Trust (NELFT) and Omnes, the privately owned company that holds the contract with the NHS to run GP services from the Health Centre.

NELFT representatives who attended the meeting took questions and undertook to get back on why blood tests have been suspended at Rainham Health Centre. This causes real problems as the closest place to now have a blood test is Elm Park Clinic, over 2.5 miles away. Those with disabilities, those who are elderly and those who don’t drive struggle to get to this clinic.

NELFT were also asked if seemingly spare rooms at the Rainham Health Centre could be released so that there would be capacity for the Health Centre to bring in another GP that would help cut down patient waiting times for appointments. Representatives from NELFT agreed to quickly look into this and respond.

Despite having had a month’s notice of the meeting, no one from Omnes attended. This failure caused real anger from patients who wanted straight answers to their many questions.

Ms Hough and Margaret Mullane then took questions from the patients and undertook to put the questions to Omnes within 24 hours demanding written responses. The questions being presented to Omnes, the privately owned contractor, are:

1. What are Omnes doing to actively try to find a permanent GP for Rainham Health Centre? It has been two years since you took on the contract, why has a full time GP still not been hired?
2. Patients have been told over the phone that systems are changing so that appointments are made online. 80% of the patients who attended were elderly, they are extremely worried about this. What happens to those patients who cannot book an appointment online?
3. Numerous patients spoke of having procedures at hospital but having to wait three weeks for the results from their GP. Why do patients have to wait so long for results?
4. Most of the patients in the room agreed that telephone consultations are inappropriate. Most surgeries are back to face-to-face appointments, why are we not?
5. One patient spoke of a three week wait for a lump found on her breast which turned out to be breast cancer. She later phoned for advice she was told her to see a pharmacist. This is not patient care, and this wasn’t the first time that a point was raised regarding the phone manner and professionalism of the current locums at the surgery.
6. A patient was told that some of out locums work from home is this true? How can a doctor work from home and not be based in the surgery for urgent or important matters?

Margaret Mullane, Labour’s Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Dagenham and Rainham, said at the meeting that “There are so many failures there needs to be a check to see if the contract holders are in breach of their contract. We must hold these people to account.”

Margaret went on to comment “The whole way in which the NHS awards contracts to private providers whose objective is to make profits needs a root and branch review. There is also a real need to ensure greater accountability by including locally elected people and patients groups when selecting providers and to make sure their views are listened to in judging the performance of these providers of vital health services.”

Ms Hough pledged to the residents at the meeting that she will make sure that the responses from Omnes and NELFT are communicated to them.