A healthcare provider was paid £165,000 by the NHS for carrying out just one GP call-out and 18 phone consultations in a contract branded 'a disgraceful scandal'.

Primecare was awarded the contract by NHS England in July last year to provide home visits to patients in the West Midlands who are registered in practices outside of their area.

It formed part of the GP Choice scheme - where patients can access GP appointments outside traditional catchment areas in a bid to make care more accessible.

The contract was worth £165,253 upfront with an additional £80 for each GP visit and £30 for a phone consultation, GP magazine Pulse reports.

Healthcare provider Primecare carried out one GP call-out as part of its £165,000 contract for NHS England

But Primecare was only required to carry out a single home visit during that time and 18 phone consultations with patients up to November, according to NHS England.

The contract, which expired at the end of March, covered Birmingham, Black Country, Solihull, Coventry, Warwickshire and Worcestershire.

Health officials said, given the low demand, they would be looking at replacing the contract at a reduced cost.

The GP Choices scheme was introduced by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt to give patients greater flexibility to get appointments.

It means people can choose to see a family doctor close to their work or at a surgery where the hours best suit their needs.

Under the scheme, patients who joined a practice a long distance away were not eligible for home visits.

But the local GP commissioning groups, and NHS England which oversees them, made provisions to ensure these patients can have visits if they become too ill to attend a surgery.

NHS England in the West Midlands said it had to look to other providers after GP practices in the region had not been interested in signing up to the scheme, which offered them £60 a home visit or £15.87 for a consultation in their practice.

The Primecare contract, which expired at the end of March, covered Birmingham, Black Country, Solihull, Coventry, Warwickshire and Worcestershire

It said its service included having 'having two GPs readily available throughout the in-hours period Monday to Friday, providing a clinically safe service that meets the needs of both the patient and the commissioners'.

Birmingham LMC medical secretary and General Practitioners Committee (GPC) member Dr Robert Morley described it as 'an inevitable consequence' of an' appalling' contract.

'This is an absolutely disgraceful scandal but comes as no surprise,' he told Pulse.

He said the GPC has consistently pointed out the problems with the out-of-area registrations scheme and described it as 'a politically-motivated gimmick'.

This is an absolutely disgraceful scandal but comes as no surprise Dr Robert Morley, General Practitioners Committee member

An NHS England spokesperson, said a new agreement had been reached which will cost 'significantly less' than the previous contract with Primecare.

'We have now reached agreements in principle with NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups and GPs to deliver a more localised service that meets the needs of patients across our area,' they said.

It blamed 'little local appetite' in providing the service which meant it had to ask other providers for costed proposals.

'Primecare offered the lowest quoted price for the service that needed to be delivered.

'If this service had not been in place, patients who needed it may have been directed to their local Accident & Emergency Unit, which may not have been the most appropriate service for them.'

A Primecare spokesperson said they were providing an important service and said it was the commissioner's decision to pay the money for the contract up front.