Examination of Witnesses (Questions 60-79)
Wednesday 10 December 2003
Mr David Anderson, Professor Mansel Aylward CB, Mr
John Sumner, and Mr Simon Chipperfield, examined.
Q60 Mr Bacon: What happens to your
doctors if they behave in an inappropriate way? Are they simply
stopped from working for you or does anything else happen?
Mr Chipperfield: It depends; there
are degrees of what we would consider to be unacceptable or poor
quality. If you are talking about doctors who we would consider
had acted inappropriately in contravention of the GMC ethics and
regulations, then we would inform the GMC and initiate the investigation
with the GMC.
Q61 Mr Bacon: You said earlier that
you were very careful about how you selected doctors.
Mr Chipperfield: Absolutely.
Q62 Mr Bacon: A doctor can apply
by printing off an application form from your website. I have
one here. Indeed he can apply on-line, but if so he has to send
in a completed and signed declaration form which has to be sent
in separately. Assuming you post in the whole thing, what then
normally happens? Is there normally a face to face interview before
the doctor starts work?
Mr Chipperfield: Yes, there is
a screening process and we screen out a lot of candidates at that
stage. In the last two years I would say that of the original
applications no more than 20% or 25% have ended up being employed.
They go through a very thorough screening process.
Q63 Mr Bacon: Do they have a face-to-face
interview?
Mr Chipperfield: Everyone has
face-to-face interviews.
Q64 Mr Bacon: Just one?
Mr Chipperfield: At least one;
in some cases it is more than one.
Q65 Mr Bacon: Can you tell me the
total revenue your company receives from doing assessments?
Mr Chipperfield: It is round about
£80 million.
Q66 Mr Bacon: Eight zero.
Mr Chipperfield: Yes, in this
current financial year.
Q67 Mr Bacon: I was surprised when
I read on your website that you are in fact the largest employer
of doctors in the United Kingdom after the Health Service. Is
that still correct?
Mr Chipperfield: If you include
all of the doctors we use across all of our medical services and
you include the doctors who work under sub-contract for us via
Nestor Healthcare Group, then yes, I believe so.
Q68 Mr Bacon: If I phone Directory
Inquiries should they be able to find you in the phonebook under
Sema Medical Services or Schlumberger Medical Services?
Mr Chipperfield: SchlumbergerSema
or Schlumberger, yes.
Q69 Mr Bacon: I spent about an hour
on the phone giving every combination I possibly could and you
do not appear to be in the phonebook. Are you aware of this?
Mr Chipperfield: We are in the
phonebook.
Q70 Mr Bacon: You are not trying
to hide as a company.
Mr Chipperfield: Absolutely not.
Q71 Mr Bacon: If I phone up Directory
Inquiries and ask for Schlumberger Medical Services when I get
back to my office, I should be given the phone number.
Mr Chipperfield: Schlumberger
Medical Services is not a company. The company's name is Schlumberger
and we trade as SchlumbergerSema.
Q72 Mr Bacon: You are a very important
company, are you not?
Mr Chipperfield: The legal entity
is called Sema UK Limited.
Q73 Mr Bacon: You can get Schlumberger,
but it is quite difficult to find the person you need to speak
to on the doctor side, the Medical Services side.
Mr Chipperfield: I get phone calls
all the time.
Q74 Mr Bacon: Are you satisfied with
how your serious complaint investigation team operates?
Mr Chipperfield: Yes, I am. We
have an experienced team of people; it is a mix of medical professionals,
medical managers and non-medical managers who get involved in
our serious complaints.
Q75 Mr Bacon: If there is a serious
complaint, do you interview both sides?
Mr Chipperfield: Yes, we do.
Q76 Mr Bacon: Always?
Mr Chipperfield: If they are willing
to comply.
Q77 Mr Bacon: Mr Sumner, when tribunals
meet to consider a case do they take evidence from both sides?
Mr Sumner: They will have a submission
from the decision-maker in the Department and they will take evidence
from both sides, yes.
Q78 Mr Bacon: Do you agree that the
rules of financial justice in English common law require that
there is a duty to give persons affected by a decision a reasonable
opportunity to present their case?
Mr Sumner: If those are the rules
of common law, then clearly that is the case, yes.
Q79 Mr Bacon: It is one of the first
principles.
Mr Sumner: Yes.
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