Dying patient left in pain by care delays, MP says

Long waits for privatised NHS services have seen patients forced to wrap leaking wounds in plastic bags or spend their final hours in "avoidable pain", MPs have warned.

Private care provider HCRG took over a major NHS contract to run community health services across Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon, and Wiltshire in April 2025 and, in April this year, introduced a Single Point of Access (SPA) system.

But on Wednesday, MPs told a debate about HCRG's performance in the south west that the SPA, a single phone number for all HCRG services, has not worked as planned.

An HCRG spokesperson said there will still be times when it does not meet expectations and is "sorry when this happens".

Chippenham Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Gibson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that constituents face long waits on phones, missed call-backs, referrals that are difficult to track, and urgent cases not reaching the right team quickly enough.

"One district nurse described attending a patient whose leg wounds had leaked through his dressings," she said.

"By the time the nurse arrived, the patient had resorted to wrapping plastic bags around his legs."

She went on to describe repeated instances of referrals not reaching the community nursing team — in one case, leaving someone approaching the end of life in "severe pain" for hours with no pain relief.

"Nobody approaching the end of their life should spend hours in avoidable pain because the system is inadequate," Gibson added.

Ms Gibson said she had been approached, while using health services as a patient, by staff who wanted to raise issues with her in confidence.

Several members of staff also attended Wednesday's debate, which was called after a 24-hour strike by HCRG workers over staffing levels, workloads, and concern for patient care on October 21.

Bristol South Labour MP and Minister for Secondary Care, Karin Smyth, said: "Single points of access have been worked on for many years under many different contracts. Generally, they should do what they say on the tin and actually help people move forward, so HCRG does need to make its work.

"I understand that, as a result of some of the issues that have been raised, the ICB (integrated care board) is increasing its oversight, bringing together the provider and the system to support improvement. It is really important that that work also brings together patients, carers, the local community, staff and other stakeholders as it develops."

An HCRG spokesperson said: "The Single Point of Access is not a call centre. It is a new system for assessing patients' needs, prioritising referrals clinically and arranging appointments and care.

"When the new system was introduced in April, there were difficulties with telephone waiting times and referral processing.

"Nearly seven months later, the service is very different. We have strengthened staffing, cleared the referral backlog and reduced average telephone waiting times to around three minutes.

"However, there will still be times when we don't meet people's expectations. We are sorry when this happens and encourage anyone unhappy with the service they receive to contact us.

"We welcome scrutiny from our NHS commissioners and local MPs, with whom we have met and continue to engage."

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