A protest outside the Operose’s offices in April

THE fight to overturn the US takeover of GP surgeries is just as important as any NHS protests of the past, campaigners were told at a packed public meeting on Monday.

More than 500 people joined an online rally about the Centene Corporation’s shock takeover of 58 doctors surgeries – including four in Camden.

It was held ahead of two health protests: on Saturday, a national demonstration will take place in central London in defence of the NHS, while campaigners against Centene will picket the Department of Health on Monday evening.

The New Journal first revealed the takeover of the surgeries in a front-page scoop in February but the issue has now gone national with this week’s meeting held by campaign group Get Centene Out hearing concerns from patients and activists from across the country.

It told how £40,000 was raised in just a few days for a legal challenge against the decision to approve the “change in control” by the North Central London Clinical Commissioning Group.

Shirley Franklin, chairwoman of the Defend the Whittington Health Coalition, which fought off the closure of accident and emergency services, told the meeting: “Our campaign was successful was because we were going to lose our hospital. It is difficult to fight on the issue of privatisation surgeries.

“But it is not so difficult to fight if we are talking about fighting for our NHS. We need to talk about fighting for the NHS and we need to do it on the streets.”

Islington North MP Jeremy Corbyn told the meeting: “We are up against big and powerful forces. We have to excite people and inform them. Defending an A&E and a hospital is tangible and obvious and clear. Defending a GP is not so tangible, but it is just as important.

“Our call today is for all of us to take action in our own communities this weekend.”

The meeting heard experiences of poor treatment and cut-back services from patients whose doctors surgeries have been taken over by private companies. Mr Corbyn, the former leader of the Labour Party, had told the meeting that all GPs should be “salaried” – directly employed by the NHS – because “that’s where their loyalty lies”.

Instead, many are run through “alternative provider medical services” contracts that allow practices to be effectively sold-off to other companies.

These contracts are what allowed health chiefs to approve the GP takeover by Operose Health, a wholly owned subsidiary of Centene Corporation. Somers Town Medical Centre, Brunswick Medical Centre, King’s Cross Surgery, the Community Healthcare Improvement Practice for homeless patients – and a network of out of hours GP hubs in Camden – have all transferred to the company.

The legal row is centring on whether the public were properly informed and whether health chiefs considered the legality of patient data being sent abroad as part of the package.

Campaigning doctor Louise Irvine warned that opposing the government’s latest health reforms should be the forefront of the campaign, adding: “We need to abolish APMS contracts.”

The meeting’s chairman Richard Buckwell warned that private companies like Centene would use NHS contracts like a “Trojan horse” to gain a foothold in the NHS.

The protest on Monday starts outside the DoH building in Victoria Street starts at 6pm.

A spokesperson for Operose Health said previously: “We have followed all the required regulatory procedures, including obtaining consent from our CCGs. As a provider of NHS services, care remains free at the point of delivery. “

In addition, and as with all other GP services throughout the country, we will continue to be regulated and inspected by the Care Quality Commission.”