A NURSING union has expressed concern that some North-East GP commissioners have links to private companies bidding to provide NHS services.

The controversy follows NHS County Durham and Darlington’s decision to switch the contract to provide physiotherapy to patients in Darlington from the NHS to a joint enterprise between the Assura Medical private health company and a number of the town’s GPs.

The primary care trust’s decision to award the contract to Assura Darlington was taken on the recommendation of Darlington Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), an organisation which includes the same three GPs.

Glenn Turp, the Royal College of Nursing’s Northern region director, said: “We believe that it is completely inappropriate that private companies can have a vested interest in both the commissioning and provision of NHS services.”

The criticism has been dismissed by primary care trust bosses who said the three Darlington GP commissioners with links to Assura Medical took no part in the decision to award the contract to Assura Darlington.

If the Government’s controversial health reforms become law, Darlington CCG will take over most of the NHS budget in the town from the primary care trust in 2013.

The decision means that since May patients with musculoskeletal problems who need NHS physiotherapy are having their treatment at the Hundens Lane clinic run by Assura Darlington, rather than at Darlington Memorial Hospital’s physiotherapy department.

A spokesman for NHS County Durham and Darlington said: “In awarding the contract for musculo- skeletal services to Assura, the primary care trust followed due process within a robust legal framework for procurement.

“This process recognised and considered all aspects of procurement, including conflicts of interest, in arriving at a decision that we are confident would stand up to both internal and external scrutiny.

“The trust is responsible for the commissioning of care and services for the people of Darlington, working closely with primary care colleagues and emergent clinical commissioning groups.

“We are committed to upholding the highest professional and ethical standards.

“As such, Dr Andrea Jones and her colleagues, Dr Alison Mc- Naughton Jones and Dr Kate Bidwell, took no part in the decisionmaking process in awarding this contract to Assura.

“The contract awarded is managed under a robust performance management process in line with all other provider contracts.”