Campaigners have achieved some notable wins on getting GP surgeries in Islington and Haringey out of the hands of large US companies.

In Islington it has been announced that the contract for running the Hanley Road Primary Care Centre, one of the original AT Medics’ practices, has gone to the Islington GP Federation. As a result, this association of local Islington GPs will look at the best way to run the practice.

A big victory for campaigners, this time in Haringey, saw North Central London’s Primary Care Committee cancel its contract with AT Medics to run St Ann’s Road Surgery in Haringey from 1 July 2024.

Members of the PCC voted unanimously to stop this failing contract despite Operose, the owner of AT Medics, saying that they would  put in improvements

This is a victory for Haringey Keep Our NHS Public, who have fought long and hard to get better service for patients at the practice. The announcement to strip Operose of its management of St Ann’s Road Surgery comes after NHS commissioners were not informed of a change of ownership after Operose’s previous owners, the giant American health insurance Centene, sold off its UK subsidiary of over 60 GPs.

Patients are now calling for the GP practice, which currently has over 16,000 patients, to be run by local GPs in the interests of patients. A deputation will be asking the PCC to directly award the running of the practice to the Haringey GP Federation or to run a purely local procurement process for only local practices.

Patients at St Ann’s Road Surgery have seen a consistent decline in standards of care since the clinic was taken over by Operose in 2021, with surveys showing falling levels of patient satisfaction year on year.

A recent report looking into the future of the GP surgery found that it was performing below local averages for 7 out of 8 of its key health indicators.

Campaigners have raised concerns for years that allowing private businesses to run GP practices, means profit is prioritised over patient safety. NHS finance directors recently highlighted their concerns over the amount of debt the new owners, investment firm Twenty20 Capital, had placed against the GP contracts.

Diane Paice, Co Chair of the Patient Participation Group at St Ann’s Surgery said that “I am glad that finally our longstanding issues over poor management and performance by AT Medics/Operose has been finally exposed and verified by the due diligence process. The clear breach of contract over the sale of our GP practice to a private equity company displays the contempt they have for the NHS and their patients. Patients have been warning that the Practice is failing and not safe since their take over.“

Find more background on the sale of GP practices here and on the KONP website.

Haringey KONP campaigners celebrate the PCC decision