The outgoing chief of a private healthcare firm that took over a Basingstoke GP surgery last year has been appointed an advisor to the Prime Minister.

Operose Health chief executive, Samantha Jones, will take up the role at Downing Street as an advisor on NHS transformation and social care.

The firm is a wholly-owned subsidiary of US health giant Centene, and is responsible for taking over the Camrose, Gillies and Hackwood GP partnership last year.

The news, which came as the practice was reportedly facing "financial ruin", was labelled as the "NHS effectively being sold to an American healthcare surgery" by one councillor.

It's now been confirmed by the Health Service Journal that Ms Jones, who was previously director of new care models at NHS England and a hospital boss, will take up the position when she leaves Operose.

The firm has seen controversy after it bought a large group of London GP practices, and it is set to own nearly one per cent of GP contracts in England, making it the country's largest provider of primary care.

After the news of the partnership between Operose and CGH last year, serious concerns were raised by residents, including that they were not told about this by the surgery.

One borough councillor then called for the partnership to be put on hold until patients can be consulted properly.

Cllr Paul Harvey said: "This the NHS effectively being sold to an American healthcare surgery. That is a massive thing.

"I have been told that they have a reputation for selling assets and changing services.

"I am saying stop, talk to people, engage with people. Don't just expect people to accept it.

"The weight of the opinion expressed to me suggests that there is concern that pre-dates Covid."

"The partners of these surgeries merged in order that they could provide, they told us, a better service for patients. That consultation was poor, and they left us with no choice, they were doing it anyway.

"Now, they have decided to ‘sell out’ to an American based healthcare company. I understand they say they have the best interests of patients in mind, but this is such a serious decision.

"I would invite the partners to consider the implications of allowing an American based healthcare company access like this.

"While I appreciate that GPs are private businesses and always have been, our NHS is not and the link between primary care and the NHS is critical to people’s confidence in our health system."