‘The contract to run the out-of-hours GP service in Camden comes up again in March 2022 and will go to Centene over our dead bodies’

• DO you know your evening and weekend GP care is provided by an American insurance company?

In a secret deal Centene, a major provider of health cover in the US, using its wholly-owned UK company Operose, bought AT Medics which has the contract to run out-of-hours GP care in Camden by buying out the directors of the company and replacing them by Centene operatives.

If you look at Companies House website you will see directorships changed on February 10 2021. (https://bit.ly/3AX1j9O).

As the CNJ has been warning us Centene in the same swoop got control of four other practices in Camden; King’s Cross Surgery, Somers Town Medical Centre, Camden Health Improvement Practice and Brunswick Medical Centre; and 33 other practices in London making Centene the largest private provider of GP practices in England. (https://youtu.be/Gp-9jqKCa6U).

For Centene this is only the beginning. Their role in the US is managing care rather than providing it and this is the real objective here. It is hard to make money out of general practice.

By owning GP practices they will claim entitlement to sit on the new regional boards being set up under the new health and social care bill going through parliament, which is intended, among other things, to “integrate” private and NHS health services.

The bill will also weaken or abolish the right and power of scrutiny of significant health changes by local authorities leaving us with little or no democratic control over our health services.

If you object to your phone call to the GP in the evenings or weekends ending up in the state of Missouri, where Centene is located, or Centene running any part of our health service, join our campaign to Get Centene Out of Camden GPs (centeneoutofcamdengps@gmail.com).

The contract to run the out-of-hours GP service in Camden comes up again in March 2022 and will go to Centene over our dead bodies.

DR PAUL O’BRIEN
Gaisford Street, NW5