Job losses feared as doctors call centre moves out of Camden
Published: 12th May, 2011
by TOM FOOT
THE private firm that took over the running of the out-of-hours doctors service is moving out of Camden.
Harmoni plc – which took over the contract from not-for-profit doctors group Camidoc in October last year – will take calls from Camden patients from a centralised call centre in Southall, west London. Dozens of call handlers face redundancy.
A Camden doctor, who did not wish to be named, said: “All call-handling staff at St Pancras are going to be made redundant – some have worked for the Camidoc or Harmoni service for many years.
“Calls to Harmoni will now be answered by people who have no local knowledge but Harmoni are complaining that they aren’t making any money from the north central area.”
Camidoc was awarded a £4million contract in March last year, chosen ahead of Harmoni, which was rated second best in the tendering process. But Camidoc went bust after it was found to be using the NHS pension fund to plug a shortfall in funding.
A spokesman for Harmoni said the company had “no desire to join those out-of-hours providers who have met financial difficulties in the last year or so”. The move to a centralised call centre would “make it easier to manage peaks and troughs in demand”.
The statement added: “The only change patients will notice to the service is a speedier response to their calls. Call handlers, wherever they are physically based, work from a local directory. The location of the call centre is not relevant to the quality of service the patient receives.”
Harmoni has had its nine-month temporary contract renewed by North Central London NHS sector trust.