A chain of GP surgeries in London run by a private company has been operating “without permission” from NHS commissioners since December 2023, according to campaigners from North East London Save Our NHS – in a “serious contract breach”
The 49 surgeries were originally owned by US corporation Centene, via its UK subsidiary Operose, but in December 2023, Operose was sold to HCRG Care, owned by the UK private equity group Twenty20 Capital.
The GP surgeries are operating under APMS (Alternative Provider Medical Services) contracts, and a new owner is required to apply for a change of control permission from local NHS commissioners. according to campaigners, this was not officially been granted.
Back in November 2023 T20 Osprey Midco Ltd, a newly set-up subsidiary of Twenty20 Capital through which the acquisition took place, applied for change of control permission from local ICBs. But later told North West London ICBs that it had unilaterally taken ‘change of control’ of the company on 28 December 2023.
In April 2024, commissioners at the North East London, North Central London and North West London ICBs told campaigners that change of control permission had still not been officially granted by any of the ICBs affected.
Full story in The Lowdown, 18 April 2024
