'Unacceptable' Somerset out-of-hours GP contract ends

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Vocare will continue to provide Somerset's NHS 111 service

Out-of-hours GP services in Somerset will be taken over after the current service was deemed "unacceptable", the county's clinical commissioning group has said.

Last April government inspectors found the service run by Vocare to be inadequate.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) also found the NHS 111 non-emergency phone line required improvement.

The contract will be taken over by Devon Doctors at the end of April.

Vocare has previously apologised for not meeting expected standards and claimed changes had been made.

However, in November the Clinical Commissioning Group asked ambulance crews and hospital A&E departments to be prepared to support up the struggling out-of-hours GP service at the busiest times.

In a statement, Vocare and Somerset CCG said they had mutually agreed to end the out-of-hours contract by 30 April.

Vocare will continue to run Somerset's NHS 111 non-emergency phone line.

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