Property firm 'offered GBP100,000 in bribes' to GPs for Covid vaccines | Metro News
A luxury property investment company has offered GP surgeries £5,000 per coronavirus vaccine in an attempt to get its staff inoculated early. Emails seen by Metro.co.uk show the Hacking Trust offering to pay the money ‘either as a charitable donation or to the staff member directly’. The London based firm say they require approximately 20 vaccinations and asked if they could swoop in on any ‘no show’ appointments or cancellations. It is understood the email was sent to a number of surgeries, including in Worthing, Bristol and West Sussex. Coronavirus vaccines are licensed by Public Health England and owned by the UK Government, and are not allowed to be sold privately.
In the email, with the subject line ‘Unused vaccine reward’, the company says: ‘We require approx 20 vaccinations and we understand you are operating a Covid-19 vaccination centre. We have been informed that many appointments are not kept and some do not attend at all. ‘On this basis we would like to be informed as soon as possible of any ‘no shows’ or cancellations on any given day which would result in unnecessary wastage of the vaccination.
‘We will donate to the individual the sum of £5,000 for each successful vaccine for our staff members. This can be paid either as a charitable donation or to the staff member directly. ‘We are able to attend within a few hours following a telephone call or email response. I look forward to hearing from you as a matter of urgency to discuss.’ On its website the firm based in Wandsworth, south-west London, calls itself a specialist in ‘purchasing residential and commercial properties’, but it introduces itself as a ‘private medical company’ in the email. The company does have a division called the Hacking Health Trust, which focuses on commercial medical properties. It comes as GPs across the country are working hard to vaccinate high-priority groups first before the general population.
A luxury property investment company has offered GP surgeries £5,000 per coronavirus vaccine in an attempt to get its staff inoculated early. Emails seen by Metro.co.uk show the Hacking Trust offering to pay the money ‘either as a charitable donation or to the staff member directly’. The London based firm say they require approximately 20 vaccinations and asked if they could swoop in on any ‘no show’ appointments or cancellations. It is understood the email was sent to a number of surgeries, including in Worthing, Bristol and West Sussex. Coronavirus vaccines are licensed by Public Health England and owned by the UK Government, and are not allowed to be sold privately.
In the email, with the subject line ‘Unused vaccine reward’, the company says: ‘We require approx 20 vaccinations and we understand you are operating a Covid-19 vaccination centre. We have been informed that many appointments are not kept and some do not attend at all. ‘On this basis we would like to be informed as soon as possible of any ‘no shows’ or cancellations on any given day which would result in unnecessary wastage of the vaccination.
‘We will donate to the individual the sum of £5,000 for each successful vaccine for our staff members. This can be paid either as a charitable donation or to the staff member directly. ‘We are able to attend within a few hours following a telephone call or email response. I look forward to hearing from you as a matter of urgency to discuss.’ On its website the firm based in Wandsworth, south-west London, calls itself a specialist in ‘purchasing residential and commercial properties’, but it introduces itself as a ‘private medical company’ in the email. The company does have a division called the Hacking Health Trust, which focuses on commercial medical properties. It comes as GPs across the country are working hard to vaccinate high-priority groups first before the general population.
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