While the new system initially struggled with demand, she said performance had improved significantly.
“Our response time now, if you ring our point of access, is three minutes to access our adult services and two minutes to access our children’s services,” she said.
She rejected suggestions HCRG was failing to deliver care.
“Patient safety and quality of care remains our absolute priority,” she said.
She said decisions about treatment and visit schedules were made by healthcare professionals based on individual care plans and clinical need.
Asked about claims the company was prioritising profits over care, Scrase said HCRG’s performance was monitored by the NHS through quality, safety and financial measures.
“I can absolutely reiterate that my decisions are made on patient safety and quality. I have never had to make a decision based on profit,” she said.
She added HCRG was regulated by the Care Quality Commission and had received “good” or “outstanding” ratings in inspections since the contract began.
Responding to concerns about staff leaving, Scrase said workforce data did not support that view.
“We are very proud of the staff that we’ve got and the care that they deliver, and that is not evidenced that we are losing our staff,” she said.
Mathew said he would continue to scrutinise performance closely.
“If we haven’t seen improvements, then we’re going to have to raise it up a level because we’re talking about the healthcare of the people of the area and it’s just not acceptable as it is.”