NHS bosses are preparing to ditch a pioneering team of doctors who stepped in to serve patients in Whitehawk when a private healthcare company abandoned them.
The Sussex Integrated Care Board (ICB) – also known as NHS Sussex – wants to drop the Brighton-based Wellsbourne Healthcare Community Interest Company (CIC) in favour of a private provider based in Leeds.
An announcement by NHS Sussex on the BidStats online public procurement portal, below, said that the ICB wanted to award the £10.4 million contract to One Medicare, part of the One Medical Group.
One member of the current surgery team said: “This decision disregards both local needs and historical evidence and puts patient safety, staff retention and service continuity at risk.
“This decision will have an enormous impact on residents of East Brighton, many of whom live in the most deprived wards in the city.
“Wellsbourne Healthcare CIC was established in direct response to the failure of the last private healthcare provider in Whitehawk which failed in 2016. That collapse left patients without care and services in disarray.
“Since then, we have built a stable, trusted and high-performing practice from the ground up, rooted in the principles of continuity, community and care for those facing the greatest health inequalities.
“Our work has been such a pioneering example of good practice in addressing health inequalities that we were featured in the Marmot Review in 2020.
“This community needs hands-on, relationship-based care delivered by people who know the area and are trusted by those who live here. Over 10 per cent of our patients have safeguarding concerns. Many live with serious mental illness, trauma, addiction and complex social needs.
“This is not a setting where care can be safely or effectively outsourced to a generic model.
“This decision jeopardises a workforce that has stayed in one of the most deprived areas of the city not for financial gain but because they believe in what we are doing.
“Lose the model and we lose the people. And we cannot afford that. Not here.”
The CIC said that it was appealing against the decision.
Wellsbourne Healthcare was formed after the Practice Group – now part of Operose Health – left patients high and dry in 2016 because it wasn’t making enough money from its contract.
It took on the GP (general practice) surgery in Whitehawk Road, Whitehawk, and is rated good by the official watchdog, the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
Today (Tuesday 6 May), the family doctors surgery posted on its website: “You GP surgery is under threat.”
The post said: “Wellsbourne Healthcare CIC is at risk of being replaced by a non-local for-profit company. If you believe in local care, from a GP team you know, now is the time to speak up.
“We know this news will come as a shock. For the past seven years, we’ve worked hard to build a local, trusted and caring practice that puts patients first—especially those facing the greatest health challenges. We are proud of what we’ve created together with this community.
“This is happening because our current contract with NHS Sussex is coming to an end. It’s important to us that you know that this decision is not a result of anything we have done as a practice.
“We do not want to give up this practice and it is not being taken from us because we are performing badly. We want to stay and continue to provide excellent care to you and your families.
“Most importantly, we do not believe that this change will lead to good healthcare for Whitehawk.
“The decision to remove a not-for-profit, local service and replace it with a profit making company from outside the area is deeply concerning to us.
“We believe it puts patient safety, continuity of care and a highly skilled workforce at risk for some of the most vulnerable patients in our city.
“We are appealing the decision and there is a chance it could be reversed but we need your support.
“If you’d like to raise your concerns directly, please contact NHS Sussex and ask them to reconsider. Email sxicb.contactus@nhs.net (and) address it to the chair of the board.”
The company chosen by NHS Sussex was told that one of its GP surgeries and walk-in centres “required improvement” after an inspection by the CQC.
The regulator inspected the Shakespeare Medical Practice, in Leeds, two years ago after whistleblowers raised concerns. The CQC criticised shortcomings in leadership and effectiveness.
One Medical Group, owned by Michael Beverley, a 77-year-old former director of Leeds United Football Club, made a pre-tax profit of £1.2 million on turnover of almost £29 million, according to its most recent accounts.
But it has also dropped a difficult contract in the past, walking away from the Circuit Lane Surgery, in Reading, in 2018 amid a series of critical CQC reports.
And in October 2023, the CQC rated the Sheffield City GP Health Centre, run by One Medical, as inadequate and placed it in special measures.
NHS Sussex said: “Our key priority is to ensure that people across Sussex can receive the NHS help and support that they need.
“We are currently procuring a new contract for primary care services for people living in the Whitehawk area of Brighton, a GP practice population of 8,366.
“This procurement has had to take place because the current contract to run these services has come to an end and for GP services to continue in this area we have had to to start a new contract and follow due process to put that in place.
“We have also taken the opportunity to ensure that the new contract is designed to meet the current and future needs of the local population, which is one of the most deprived areas in Sussex, and is focused on improving the health of the population through increased community involvement, prevention initiatives and increased support for registered patients.
“National regulations mean we have had to follow an open procurement process, with the ability for all parties with interest in providing services to this community to submit an application.
“Each bid is fully considered and evaluated, based on the information that is shared during the procurement process.
“This process is still under way and, as a result, we are unable to comment further until the procurement has officially been completed.
“However, we have seen and are aware of the concern being raised to us and we will respond further as soon as we are able.”
Is the replacement provided cheaper? Or better? Something else ? No reason for the proposed change given just a one sided history lesson.
It’s odd that this change is even being proposed. I suspect it’s due to the inherent bias of the APMS contract model, which tends to favour large, corporate providers. These contracts often undervalue relational, community-embedded care models like Wellsbourne’s. They also fail to prioritise the things that matter most in high-need communities like Whitehawk, such as safeguarding, long-term trust and trauma-informed continuity of care.
Exactly, why have no reasons been given for this decision, to terminate the contract for a GP surgery rated “Good” by the CQC in all aspects? Very strange, needs poking into! Interim CEO of the ICB, Mark Smith, please tell us why!
Please sign the petition to save Wellsbourne Heath Care https://chriswardmp.co.uk/petition-save-wellsbourne-healthcare-keep-local-trusted-gp-care-in-whitehawk/
As of now, 888 signatures on the petition against the transfer of contract to an unknown private outsider.
One Medical is a profit making organisation. Can anyone tell me how this company makes its profits? Does it get its funding from the NHS then employ less staff and Doctors and therefore give a reduced and inadequate service to the community. One Medical are based in Leeds and apparently have never visited Wellsbourne Surgery or Whitehawk and reportedlly have poor track record where they operate in other places. IMO they have no interest in the Community. Their prime objective is to make money out of the NHS.
This is privatisation by the back door.
PLEASE DO NOT LET ONE MEDICAL TAKE OVER THIS SURGERY OR ANY OTHER SURGERIES FOR THAT MATTER.