Bookmarkers beware: Bookmarks to pages other than the home page may not work after we change servers in April Editor's Choice | This Week in BMJ | Press releases BMJ No 7126 Volume 316 News Saturday 17 January 1998 Scottish cooperatives to be investigated The operation of family doctor out of hours services in Scotland is to be examined by the government after complaints from patients about difficulties in getting emergency home visits. The action has been prompted by the death of an 11 week old baby in Ayrshire from meningitis some 16 hours after the local cooperative, Ayrshire Doctors on Call (ADOC), failed to send a doctor to see her. The Scottish health minister, Sam Galbraith, has asked his officials to look into this incident and any similar problems that have been reported across the country. The minister has made it clear that he supports the concept of family doctors forming cooperatives to share out of hours calls instead of individual practices having to provide constant cover. He believes that the system in general is working well and is proving of benefit both to patients and to GPs, but he wants to be assured that any failings in the system are being addressed. ADOC is one of the largest cooperatives in Scotland and is responsible for 330,000 patients registered with 50 practices in Ayrshire. It was criticised just over a year ago when another baby died without a doctor attending. The 11 month old girl died from bronchial pneumonia after her grandmother was advised by telephone to give her Calpol and to check back with ADOC. A fatal accident inquiry subsequently concluded, however, that the death was an unavoidable tragedy. An inquiry held last year by the local health board into the running of ADOC found high satisfaction levels among patients, and this finding was seen by the ADOC's chief executive, Dr David Watts, as justifying the cooperative's claim that it is providing a safe, effective service that is well regarded by the most patients. Dr Watts said that he welcomed Mr Galbraith's inquiry and was confident that the outcome would show that the service in general is working well. Bryan Christie Edinburgh Home | Current issue | Past issues | Classified ads | Career Focus | Feedback Collections | About this site | About the BMJ | BMA | Medline