Concerns of 'data sharing' by Brent GPs takeover company

Burnley Medical Practice in Robson Avenue, Willesden, and The Wembley Practice in Chaplin Road, currently run by AT Medics, is earmarked to be taken over by Operose Health Ltd, a UK subsidiary of US-based health insurer Centene Corporation.

Burnley Medical Practice located in the Willesden Centre for Health and Care (Image: Google)

Brent Clinical Commissioning Group's (CCG) Primary Care Commissioning Committee (PCCC) held a meeting on March 18.

They decided to call in AT Medics and parent company Operose following concerns by patient group Brent Patient Voice (BPV) and Barnhill councillor Gaynor Lloyd.

Mike Nelson, assistant head of Primary Care Commissioning at NHS said the takeover, "a change in control at AT Medics", had been agreed in December and the purpose of the meeting was to "put the information in the public domain".

In papers ahead of the meeting officers recommend that the PCCC "note the granting of consent for the proposed change in control without conditions based on the due diligence evidence set out above."

However Cllr Lloyd said she was "totally astonished" at the lack of due diligence

She said Operose Health had only been operating since 2016 adding Operose had "made a loss every year since its existence", and had received £9.5m from Centine. "How could that pass due diligence on financial standing?"

Julie Sands, head of primary care at NHS England, confirmed they received advice from their solicitors giving that assurance.

Peter Latham, chair of the Burnley Medical Practice patient participation group (PPG), said he had seen a letter from AT Medics to staff assuring them of the takeover but not to "proactively inform patients "on the basis it didn't affect patients".

He said "various aspects of takeover do affect patients" and that before you can use any AT Medics websites patients must "consent on a one time pop up privacy policy."

He said there was a provision in them that AT Medics and Operose are entitled to make unlimited disclosure of personal information to unlimited third parties for marketing purposes.

He said AT Medics "have assured" him that "they won't operate those as it would be contrary to their policy".

"They've made minor amendments but I can't understand why they'd want to keep those consents," he added.

"Personal information is all your clinical information, it cannot be right that they are reserving on a consent the right to disclose all your personal information to third parties companies for marketing purposes."

Ms Sands said that websites "are all bound by Data Protection Act and that's not guidance, that's not a suggestion it's a regulation and it's statute".
"We would need to look into that if that's coming up on their website," she added.

MC Patel, chair of Brent CCG, said it was "worrisome" if patient data was shared.

"It's clear there's still an amount of concern and people need more clarity. I would urge us to bring Operose Health in and have another meeting with them."

Concerns were raised about the five year contracts given to Alternative Provider Medical Services (APMS) such as Operose.

Camden Road Surgery closed four years after being taken over by an Operose associate company in 2012, giving patients only four weeks to register elsewhere.

Ms Sands said APMS' contracts offer flexibility as they are time limited and are required to comply with British Medical Association terms.

She added: "With the contract with AT Medics when it comes to an end it comes to an end. It would then go out to the open market."

Cllr Janice Long (Dudden Hill) said that "doesn't give much assurance."

Fana Hussein, assistant director of primary Care at Brent CCG, reassured the group saying both practices were large and viable.

The committee recommended they gather more of the assurance documents involved in the takeover and make them available and agreed hold a meeting where directors of AT Medic and Operose could answer a range of questions.