AT Medics Ltd. is the largest provider of

primary care Primary care is a model of health care that supports first-contact, accessible, continuous, comprehensive, and coordinated person-focused care. It aims to optimise population health and reduce disparities across the groups by ensuring equitable ...

services to the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England. It has 37 primary care sites and covers 16 London CCG areas and 270,000 patients.

Keir Starmer Sir Keir Rodney Starmer (born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and lawyer who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 2024 and as Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He previously ...

, leader of the Leader of the Labour Party and Member of Parliament (MP) for Holborn and St Pancras, said in a letter to the head of the North Central London Commissioning Group in February 2021 following the takeover of AT Medics by Operose Health, said that "since AT Medics took control of these practices a few years ago, I have received various complaints about their services and conduct from both patients and medical staff". AT Medics was taken over by Operose Health, a UK subsidiary of US health insurance group Centene Corp, in early 2021, creating the largest private supplier of GP services in the UK, with 58 practices covering half a million patients. A coalition of doctors, campaigners and academics wrote to health secretary

Matt Hancock Matthew John David Hancock (born 2 October 1978) is a British politician who served as Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General from 2015 to 2016, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from January to July 20 ...

requesting an investigation by the

Care Quality Commission The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care of the United Kingdom. It was established in 2009 to regulate and inspect health and social care providers in England. It ...

. Campaigners spoke of "privatisation of the NHS by stealth". In Starmer's letter in response to the Operose takeover—which included practices in Camden, Starmer's constituency—he says "I have received a number of emails from constituents who are very worried about the potential impact of this takeover, particularly given the involvement of such a large U.S. healthcare firm". NHS campaign groups asked Hancock to look into the "secret processes" by which the surgeries changed hands, and asked him if it was in breach of NHS contracts legislation.

References

Health in London Primary care General practice organizations Centene Corporation {{med-org-stub