CCGs face procurement challenge over out of hours GP services

Three clinical commissioning groups in the North East are facing a High Court challenge over the procurement of a provider for out of hours (OOH) GP services.

The procurement exercise covered three lots for OOH services for Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland.

The North East Specialist Commissioning Group, which ran the procurement, has appointed recommended bidders.

However, Northern Doctors Urgent Care has brought a legal challenge. It has been reported that Northern Doctors Urgent Care was appointed to one of the lots but missed out on the others.

A spokeswoman for the North East Specialist Commissioning Group said: “The procurement process has involved a thorough and robust assessment of bids (including both written and face to face evaluation) across a broad range of criteria and is fully compliant with the relevant procurement legislation.”

She said these included: 

• Clinical/Service Delivery;
• Workforce;
• Premises, Transport and Facilities Management;
• Information Management and Technology;
• Mobilisation.

The spokeswoman added: “As commissioners, we are now urgently considering this challenge. As a result we will not be able to make any announcement regarding the outcome until the challenge has been resolved.”