STEVE Barclay MP called on the Leader of the House of Commons to hold an urgent debate on out of hours GP services after the Care Quality Commission damning report about Take Care Now.

The CQC slammed Take Care Now for “systematic failings” following the death of Manea man David Gray by German out of hours doctor Daniel Ubani.

Dr Ubani was on his first shift in the UK when he gave Mr Gray 10 times the recommended dose of diamorphine.

Mr Barclay met with the chief executive of the General Medical Council on Wednesday and raised the case on the floor of the House of Commons yesterday.

Mr Barclay said to the House: “Will the Leader of the House find time for a debate following this morning’s Care Quality Commission report into out-of-hours GP services, so that we may learn the lessons from the unlawful killing of my constituent David Gray and ensure that EU-qualified doctors working here are both medically competent to use NHS equipment and able to speak English to their patients?”

In reponse Sir George Young, the Leader of the House, said: “My honourable Friend raises an important issue, and I suspect that he may have seen the written ministerial statement this morning commenting on the CQC’s report.

“Out-of-hours care needs urgent reform and GPs are best placed to ensure that patients get the care they need when they need it. That is what our health reforms will deliver.”

In a statement following his question to the House, Mr Barclay said: “The Care Quality Commission report highlights that the case of Mr Gray was not a one off accident but part of a wider trend, and that specific warnings given prior to the Mr Gray’s were ignored.

“It is also clear that problems remain regarding the medical competence and language capability of some EU qualified doctors working in the UK.

“It is time we made it clear that UK legislation does not goldplate European requirements and allow tests to be applied for EU qualified doctors, or amend our legislation to make this possible.”

Mr Barclay added: “A further concern is the sporadic nature of information in certain European countries regarding doctors who have been subject to disciplinary proceedings.

“Data protection rules in these countries often prevent disclosure of information to the same level as that of the United Kingdom. This creates the risk that constituents from North East Cambridgeshire who are treated by a doctor in another EU country cannot always find out whether that doctor has been guilty of misconduct in the past.

“Such a lack of transparency over information contrasts with the information available within the UK, and this is an issue I will be raising in the future in the House.”