Hello Friends

A BBC Panorama documentary aired this week  - Monday 13th June 8pm - and revealed that a London GP Surgery taken over by Operose Health last year is failing patients with a catalogue of bad practice that includes:

• Understaffing of GPs to dangerous patient/doctor levels
• Employing less expensive Physicians Associates (PAs) to replace GPs
• Not providing adequate clinical supervision to these PAs
• Denying patient access to GP appointments
• Failing to send patients vital letters and information

It is worth watching to see the extent of damage to GP Services that Operose Health is causing. The YouTube Link is here: https://youtu.be/vmcrmRyBB3s

I brought the Judicial Review challenging the decision by North Central London Clinical Commissioning Group to approve the sale of AT Medics’ GP Practices to Operose Health because I feared that the Centene UK subsidiary would have no hesitation in replacing the NHS ethics of fair and equal access to care with their American model - designed to gouge profit from publicly funded services.

Sadly, this undercover report by BBC Panorama confirms my worst fears. 

The report showed that patients are being denied access to care, and that both patients and staff are being put into unsafe situations because of deliberate undercutting of staffing levels. 

Most worrying was the BBC Panorama discovery, through undercover fiming, that GPs were not reviewing letters about patients for many months. Surely this is leading to potentially serious consequences?

All this due to the pursuit of healthy profit margins but not healthy patients.

It is infuriating to see what we predicted coming true. And it is very difficult not to say to the High Courts who decided against us, and to the London Clinical Commissioning Groups...

Obviously the legal challenge route is closed off now,  because there were no grounds for appealing against Mrs Justice Hill’s dismissal of our case.  

So now it’s up to patient groups to pressure the new London statutory Integrated Care Boards (ICBs). The ICBs take over from the Clinical Commissioning Groups on 1 July 2022 as a result of the 2022 Health and Care Act.  

NHS Commissioners are responsible for monitoring and managing the Operose Health GP contracts and must be held to public account for patient and staff safety at Operose Health GP practices. 

We should also pressure the Care Quality Commission. Investigations should be carried out immediately and Councillors’ Health and Overview Scrutiny Committees should call in NHS Commissioners to explain how they are monitoring and managing the Operose Health GP contracts.

Thanks

Anjna

OTHER LINKS:

BBC Panorama page: https://bbc.in/3xkHUOY

BBC iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0017x2b/panorama-undercover-britains-biggest-gp-chain

Indepth Article on Jacqui Wakefield's undercover research: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-61759641

Hello Friends & Supporters

It is with deep regret that I have to tell you that the High Courts did not rule in our favour - they did not agree with us that the decision by North Central London Clinical Commissioning Group to allow Operose Health (Centene by another name) take over the London GP chain ATMedics Ltd. was unlawful.

At this stage we want to take a little time to consider what options are available to us and I hope you will bear with us as we think about the next steps.  

I'm so sorry not to have better news but I felt it was important to let you know before the Press release the information. 

Thank you once again for being such strong supporters of the case and we will keep you updated of further news.

Anjna & The Team

To read the full decision please click here: https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2022/384.html

Hello Everyone

On behalf of myself and the team I'd like to say a huge "thank you" to everyone who came to support us outside the courts on the mornings of the hearing. 

To have so many dedicated and concerned campaigners turn up to be there meant so much to us all.

People from all over London came to support, many of whom were patients in boroughs where they had also discovered that their  AT MEDICS GP Practice had been taken over by Operose Health (Centene). Talking to them it was very clear they were deeply concerned and anxious about the American culture of profit taking priority over patient access to treatment.

After two days of intense presentations, the Judge asked both Barristers to check they were happy with the legal papers overnight before she began her deliberation. Mrs Justice Hill thanked the legal teams for their evidence and said that she would take good time to consider the 'serious issues' in the case. We expect to hear the judgement withing the next 4 - 6 weeks.

We featured in the Morning Star, The Big Issue and The Guardian  and there were some journalists from the healthcare press at the court. We have a Press Release available if you would like to use it for the media in your local area.  

Email: [email protected]

We left the courts feeling that the last twelve months of working on the case had been worth it. Thanks once again to everyone who came to show support and to all those who shared our photos and posts online. We hope we have done you proud.

Anjna and the team*

*Special thanks to team members who could not join us at court but gave essential support online throughout the case.

Hello Friends 

And a Happier New Year to us all! 

I would like to invite you to join us outside the High Courts on the mornings of Tuesday 1st and Weds 2nd February  9am

The Royal Courts of Justice, The Strand, London, GB WC2A 2LL

A large presence outside the courts will demonstrate that this is a case of huge public interest and massive concern for thousands of patients across London and the country. 

Please do join us. It would be wonderful to make a bold clear visual statement for the press and social media with banners and placards.  

If you would like more details please contact us: [email protected]

We are all excited to be finally in the courts and our legal teams' prepared arguments are strong and clear. The time has come! Let's make it a case to remember.

If you can join us at the courts on the 1st & 2nd Feb see you there! If you can't be there in person don't forget you can play a vital part by sharing our posts and Tweets on those mornings.

Thanks for all your support.

Anjna

Joining us

Nearest Tubes: Charing Cross - 8mins, Holborn 10mins

Full transport details here: https://tfl.gov.uk/maps?Input=The+Royal+Courts+Of+Justice&InputGeolocation=51.512942%2c-0.113614

Hello

Just a very brief note to say thanks again for all the support you've shown over the last few months. 

I hope we all manage to find some rest over the festive period and we can come back in January recharged and ready for our court case. 

Please put the dates in your diary. February 1st & 2nd we are at :

The London High Courts

Strand, London

WC2A 2LL

It would be wonderful if people can join us outside the courts before we go in with the legal team. 

And if you can't make it to London you can share our photographs on social media and make sure people know about the case. 

Thank you. Have a wonderful holiday break and see you in 2022. 

Don't forget! 1st & 2nd February 8.30am

Best wishes

Anjna

Hello 

Thank you so much for all your support!  Not only with donations but your messages have been heartening and inspiring. We've closed the donations tab now as we've reached our target with a little to spare!

The last week has been a whirlwind! There have been mentions in the press and people are talking about the case.  That's great! 

And there is so much to talk about as people realise that the presence of big corporations like Centene inside our NHS is bigger than most people think. We're right to be challenging the decision making process that is allowing these companies into positions of control.

I'll update you when news occurs. 

Thanks once again and I hope you'll follow us all the way to the courts. 

Best wishes

Anjna

A huge 'THANK YOU'!! to everyone who has donated already. 

To have raised this amount in just one day is quite overwhelming. And it shows how much public willpower there is to remove American for-profit companies from our NHS - even though mainstream media are silent on the extent of Centene's takeover.

I hope it's okay to share with you some of my discoveries since starting this case in the Spring. I started this action because of the changes to my GP surgery but now I realise that this case goes way beyond simply the takeover of GP surgeries in North London. It affects the whole of the NHS and all of us as patients.

I was shocked in the summer to discover that not only has Centene Corporation become England's largest provider of GP practices (what this case is fighting) but it is now also  England’s biggest private hospital healthcare provider.  

In July this year Centene took full ownership of Circle Health Group hospitals at a cost of £900m.

Given that 5.8 million people are now waiting for hospital treatment, what safeguards are there to prevent Centene incentivising its Operose GP employees to recommend patients either to pay for private care in Centene hospitals, or to choose Centene hospitals when they are provided with NHS funds for treatment in a private hospital?

How has the Government allowed this conflict of interest to arise?  

I'm sure, like me, you can see that in this context my Judicial Review is even more significant than I thought it was. Please keep sharing this page with friends and networks.

I can't thank you enough.  It means a great deal to know that there is such strong support and feeling.

Thanks again.

Anjna