30 August 2017 — 38 Degrees
A new private health company called Push Doctor wants to profit by undermining the NHS. They’re on an aggressive expansion drive, pumping out adverts to lure people away from their NHS doctor. Yet they’ve just been found to be “unsafe” and “ineffective” by the official health watchdog. [1]Together we can stop their business taking root.
Push Doctor’s adverts claim “You’ll never go to your doctor’s again”. [2] These adverts aim to attract new customers, without mentioning that their service has been found to be unsafe. If we can get these adverts stopped for being misleading, we can block their growth at the source.
The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has the power to get misleading adverts taken down. [3] So let’s submit a huge people-powered official complaint, demanding these adverts are banned. It could be the thing to stop their Push Doctor’s expansion plans in their tracks.
Please can you add your name to the complaint to the ASA? The more signatures we can get, the more influential we will be.
An inspection by the Care Quality Commission caught Push Doctor prescribing high-risk medications without proper checks. [4] And treating children without checking who they are. [5] Yet their adverts imply they are a trustworthy alternative to your NHS GP.
If we put enough pressure on the Advertising Standards Agency to act, we can get these adverts blocked. In the past the Advertising Standards Agency have forced companies including Wonga, Audi, and Rimmel to cancel adverts that have been misleading or irresponsible. [6,7,8]
A huge complaint letter to the Advertising Standards Authority, signed by all of us, is the first step in getting these adverts banned. Once the open letter gets 100,000 signatures we’ll submit it formally.
Please add your name to the open letter now – it only takes a minute:
Thanks for being involved,
Louie, Amy, Laura, Daphne and the 38 Degrees team.
PS: We rely on GPs at some of the most important moments in our lives. They provide treatment to our poorly children, support us during pregnancy and in old age and diagnose us with serious illnesses. This is a relationship which relies on trust. We can’t afford to let dodgy businesses try to encroach on these services for a quick profit. Please sign the open letter now. https://link.38degrees.org.uk/open-letter
NOTES:
[1] Digital Health: Digital GP service found to be neither safe or effective by CQC:
https://www.digitalhealth.net/2017/06/digital-gp-service-found-unsafe-and-ineffective-by-cqc/
[2] Here’s a picture of the actual advert that’s running on the tube at the moment:
[3] The Advertising Standards Agency forces companies to follow strict advertising rules:
https://www.asa.org.uk/about-asa-and-cap/the-work-we-do/how-we-handle-complaints.html
[4,5] You can read the full report carried out by the CQC (a public body of the Department of health) here: CQC, Push Dr Limited, Push Dr Main Office, Inspection report
http://www.cqc.org.uk/sites/default/files/new_reports/AAAG3804.pdf
[6] Guardian: Wonga ad banned for ‘misleading’ borrowers:
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/apr/09/wonga-advert-banned-payday-lender
[7] The ASA bans ‘irresponsible’ Audi ad for linking speed with excitement:
http://www.thedrum.com/news/2016/08/10/asa-bans-irresponsible-audi-ad-linking-speed-excitement
[8] BBC: Rimmel ad featuring Cara Delevingne ‘misled viewers’:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-39639704
The New Dark Age 