Private firm loses grip of two Islington GP surgeries

'Quality, outcomes, experience of and confidence in local services are critical', says care board

Tuesday, 10th September 2024 — By Tom Foot

Mitchison Road Surgery

The Mitchison Road surgery

A PRIVATE firm is to be stopped from running Islington and Camden GP surgeries following a “serious contractual breach”, NHS chiefs have announced.

Operose Health has been told it has 18 months to say its goodbyes at the Mitchison Road Surgery in Canonbury, and four practices in Camden. The Hanley Road Practice in Finsbury Park – formerly run by Operose – has recently been contracted to Islington GP Group Ltd.

The NHS North Central London Integrated Care Board (NCL ICB) said it had given Operose the long notice to “ensure patient services continue uninterrupted”.

It follows the discovery of an unauthorised “change of ownership” at the company that had not been disclosed to the NHS. Sarah McDonnell, a director at NCL, said: “Quality, outcomes, experience of and confidence in local services are critical. The committee considered a number of options but felt on balance, a change of management should be sought.”

Announcing the decision, the NHS said the change of ownership at Operose Health Ltd had been carried out without its “consent”, adding that this represented “a serious contractual breach prompting the Committee to review these contracts”.

The Centene Corporation – a health insurance giant in the Unites States – decided to sell its subsidiary Operose Health to another firm T20 Osprey Midco Ltd, part of The HCRG Care Group, in December.

Centene had been under intense public scrutiny following a surprise takeover of dozens of GP surgeries across the country in 2021 – revealed first in the Tribune – including four in Camden and two in Islington. There were street protests and public meetings organised by anti-privatisation campaigners.

At an “extraordinary” meeting about the contracts decision in May NCL’s top finance director Sarah Rothenberg said the breach was about more than just “the lack of transparency”, adding that “the new owners have restructured their debt and put a debt against their organisation”.

Profit-seeking companies are able to win NHS-funded GP contracts due to legislation brought in by New Labour and sustained by successive governments.

The surgeries have been run by several different companies since 2008, due to the so-called “alternative provider of medical services” contracts.

A spokesperson for Operose Health said: “We are committed to working transparently and collaboratively with all of our commissioners to improve access to high quality primary care for patients at our practices across the country and will work with NCL ICB over the coming months to provide continuity and to ensure the health and wellbeing of patients and hard-working surgery staff while the ICB’s work is under way.”

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