Intrahealth (UK)

Intrahealth is a provider of primary Care services based in Durham, England.

They run 18 GP surgeries, 5 Community Pharmacy services and a range of NHS Community Services including anticoagulation (warfarin), immunisation / vaccination services and medicines management.[1]

Intrahealth was one of a number of companies founded by GPs cited by the NHS Support Federation in a report described a process of commercialisation masked by some providers being referred to as ‘GP-led', when in reality, many described in this way have a commercial focus, with ‘profit-making intent and a traditional corporate management structure'.[2]

In 2011 when Clinical Commissioning Groups were first proposed the company planned to develop a commissioning consortium of non-neighbouring practices covering its more than 40,000 registered patients. According to its plan “This proposal… challenges the notion of working in geographical clusters and opts for a model based on working with like-minded practices (having a similar or identical opinion, disposition). “Intrahealth’s commissioning vision is to bring the care of our patients closer to home; we want our clinicians to have ownership and it to be local ownership with clinical decisions made closer to the patient.”.[3] Subsequently it was decided that Clinical Commissioning Groups were required to be physically contiguous, so their proposal did not proceed.