This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/oct/03/advert-for-gp-access-smartphone-app-banned-by-watchdog
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Advert for GP access smartphone app banned by watchdog | Advert for GP access smartphone app banned by watchdog |
| (25 days later) | |
| A watchdog has banned adverts for a smartphone app that promises to let patients “see an NHS GP in minutes for free”. | A watchdog has banned adverts for a smartphone app that promises to let patients “see an NHS GP in minutes for free”. |
| The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has told the private health firm Babylon Health not to advertise its GP at Hand service, which has been endorsed by the health secretary, until it corrects factual errors used in its promotion. | The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has told the private health firm Babylon Health not to advertise its GP at Hand service, which has been endorsed by the health secretary, until it corrects factual errors used in its promotion. |
| It criticised Babylon for not making clear in the adverts that patients signing up to GP at Hand first had to deregister from their existing family doctor, a move that GP leaders warned would prove damaging. | It criticised Babylon for not making clear in the adverts that patients signing up to GP at Hand first had to deregister from their existing family doctor, a move that GP leaders warned would prove damaging. |
| Emergency funding for social care to be announced at Tory conference | |
| The ASA’s ruling raises questions for Matt Hancock, the health and social care secretary, who has explicitly backed the service, despite fears in the NHS that its expansion will destabilise traditional GP services. | The ASA’s ruling raises questions for Matt Hancock, the health and social care secretary, who has explicitly backed the service, despite fears in the NHS that its expansion will destabilise traditional GP services. |
| The watchdog investigated after receiving complaints about four adverts for GP at Hand that appeared on the London Underground, in a Facebook post, on a website and in an app. | The watchdog investigated after receiving complaints about four adverts for GP at Hand that appeared on the London Underground, in a Facebook post, on a website and in an app. |
| “The ads must not appear again in their current form,” the ASA said in its ruling, published on Wednesday. | “The ads must not appear again in their current form,” the ASA said in its ruling, published on Wednesday. |
| “We told GP at Hand to ensure that future ads made clear that consumers would be replacing their current GP service with GP at Hand, that the service was only available to those that lived or worked within the catchment area of specific GP surgeries and that consumers would need to wait until they were registered with a GP at Hand surgery before being able to use the service.” | “We told GP at Hand to ensure that future ads made clear that consumers would be replacing their current GP service with GP at Hand, that the service was only available to those that lived or worked within the catchment area of specific GP surgeries and that consumers would need to wait until they were registered with a GP at Hand surgery before being able to use the service.” |
| GP at Hand offers patients – so far only in parts of London – quick consultations with GPs, mainly by video, through their phones. It is thought to have registered about 44,000 patients. | GP at Hand offers patients – so far only in parts of London – quick consultations with GPs, mainly by video, through their phones. It is thought to have registered about 44,000 patients. |
| The British Medical Association welcomed the ASA’s move. “We are glad that someone is finally taking action and censuring the provider for the dubious way it operates,” said Dr Richard Vautrey, chair of the union’s GPs committee. | The British Medical Association welcomed the ASA’s move. “We are glad that someone is finally taking action and censuring the provider for the dubious way it operates,” said Dr Richard Vautrey, chair of the union’s GPs committee. |
| He said Babylon had promoted GP at Hand since its launch last November “without being clear with the public from the beginning that by using the service they will be deregistering from their own GP”. | He said Babylon had promoted GP at Hand since its launch last November “without being clear with the public from the beginning that by using the service they will be deregistering from their own GP”. |
| “By signing up with GP at Hand, patients will lose out on all of the advantages of being registered with a local practice, primarily face-to-face appointments with a familiar doctor who has full access to their medical record,” Vautrey added. | “By signing up with GP at Hand, patients will lose out on all of the advantages of being registered with a local practice, primarily face-to-face appointments with a familiar doctor who has full access to their medical record,” Vautrey added. |
| Physical restraint used on 50% more NHS patients with learning disabilities | |
| Hancock, who uses GP at Hand himself, had no comment to make in response to the ASA’s ruling, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Social Care said. | Hancock, who uses GP at Hand himself, had no comment to make in response to the ASA’s ruling, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Social Care said. |
| He has been heavily criticised by both the BMA and Royal College of GPs (RCGP) for endorsing GP at Hand months before the NHS’s assessment of its role, including concerns around patient safety, has been completed. | He has been heavily criticised by both the BMA and Royal College of GPs (RCGP) for endorsing GP at Hand months before the NHS’s assessment of its role, including concerns around patient safety, has been completed. |
| The RCGP wrote to Hancock last month warning that GP at Hand “could result in a ‘two-tier’ primary care service where healthier patients, with less complex medical conditions, can get an online appointment quickly and conveniently, while those with the greatest clinical need, such as those with frailty, multimorbidity or poor mental health, find it more difficult to access timely care when they need it.” | The RCGP wrote to Hancock last month warning that GP at Hand “could result in a ‘two-tier’ primary care service where healthier patients, with less complex medical conditions, can get an online appointment quickly and conveniently, while those with the greatest clinical need, such as those with frailty, multimorbidity or poor mental health, find it more difficult to access timely care when they need it.” |
| Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow health secretary, said the ASA’s ruling was “another clear reminder of how irresponsible it was of the health secretary to endorse this app without fully understanding the wider consequences for general practice in local communities”. | Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow health secretary, said the ASA’s ruling was “another clear reminder of how irresponsible it was of the health secretary to endorse this app without fully understanding the wider consequences for general practice in local communities”. |
| Health | Health |
| NHS | NHS |
| GPs | GPs |
| Doctors | Doctors |
| Advertising Standards Authority | Advertising Standards Authority |
| Advertising | Advertising |
| Matt Hancock | Matt Hancock |
| news | news |
| Share on Facebook | Share on Facebook |
| Share on Twitter | Share on Twitter |
| Share via Email | Share via Email |
| Share on LinkedIn | Share on LinkedIn |
| Share on Pinterest | Share on Pinterest |
| Share on Google+ | Share on Google+ |
| Share on WhatsApp | Share on WhatsApp |
| Share on Messenger | Share on Messenger |
| Reuse this content | Reuse this content |