Wragge & Co LLP Healthcare Team has advised new client North East Essex Primary Care Trust on its contract with new out-of-hours and urgent medical care service provider Harmoni.

Under the new three-year contract Harmoni will provide a service which covers the period from 6:30pm to 8:00am Monday to Friday, weekends and public holidays. The service is aimed at patients that need urgent medical advice out-of-hours and cannot wait until their GP surgery opens.

The Wragge & Co team comprised healthcare specialists Bleddyn Rees and Simone Tudor assisted by employment associate Claire Hughes, pensions solicitor Rebecca Wood and real estate associate Lorraine McDonagh. The team worked closely with Dawn King, Head of Procurement, and Wendy Tankard, Director of Nursing, at North East Essex Primary Care Trust.

Dawn King said: "We were aware of the quality work Wragge & Co had completed on similar projects and instructed them to advise on the procurement of our new out-of-hours service provider. We were impressed by the team's expertise in this area and the professionalism they showed throughout the process."

Bleddyn Rees said: "Out-of-hours services are a vital to the NHS. We were pleased to work with North East Essex Primary Care Trust on this important contract."

North East Essex Primary Care Trust holds the NHS budget for the 315,000 residents of Colchester and Tendring. The funding is used to make sure that high-quality health services are available for residents and to improve the health of the local population. This is Wragge & Co's first instruction from North East Essex Primary Care Trust.

Harmoni is one of the largest providers of out-of-hours and other primary care services in the UK. It was advised by Bevan Brittan.

Wragge & Co's specialist cross-firm healthcare practice is at the forefront of developments in this dynamic sector, providing advice on a full range of matters to leading public and private sector players. It has played a lead role in the Government's Independent Sector Treatment Centre programme, advising the Department of Health and Acute Trusts on deals with a total value in excess of £600 million.

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For further information about this press release, contact Kathryn Hobbs on +44 (0)121 213 2397, Alexa Highfield on +44 (0)121 213 2396 or Amie Ryalls on +44 (0)121 213 2360

This press release may contain information of general interest about current legal issues, but does not give legal advice.