Keep the Sercos Out, Amend the PMS Act

That the Parliament notes the terms of the Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Act 2004 (PMS Act) which enable a company limited by shares to be contracted to provide general medical services only on condition that one share is owned by a medical practitioner; but recognises that this has led to GP services being prey to companies like Serco, recognises that the legislation only states that NHS boards may enter into a contract with such a company, that open tendering to non-GPs is not a requirement and that NHS Lanarkshire could have fulfilled primary medical provision in Harthill by contracting directly with a GP or a partnership; believes that NHS Lanarkshire, which has revealed that one current and one former medical director work for Serco, has deliberately created an opportunity for expansion for Serco, but in any case considers that the current legislation places companies limited by shares in a more advantageous and less regulated position than single GPs or partnerships, and calls on the Scottish Executive to state clearly to NHS boards that they need not openly tender in the manner of NHS Lanarkshire and to amend the PMS Act to ensure that no such situation is allowed to occur in the future.