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A massive NHS privatisation plan worth up to £1bn is threatening to shut 29 centres across England, leaked documents reveal today.

Outraged union reps at Unison fear the plans, handed to the Liverpool Echo , will put the jobs of 800 hard-working admin staff at risk.

The workers are based at 32 Primary Care Support centres, which keep medical records up to date and send out letters to millions of patients.

NHS England is planning to hand responsibility for the centres to private company Capita in September.

Now proposals sent to staff suggest Capita is proposing to shut down 29 centres, leaving just three in Leeds, Preston and Essex.

NHS bosses insist the plans will free up cash for frontline staff as part of the Tories' vow to protect the NHS.

But it comes just months after Tory Jeremy Hunt signed the biggest privatisation deal in history - worth up to £780million.

Unison national officer Nick Bradley told members: "Any reorganisation could have been properly carried out by the NHS itself.

"Savings could have been used for the NHS rather than profit for a private company. PCS staff were effectively ignored."

Paul Summers, Unison's North West regional organiser, added: "The Tory government moved quickly after the election to privatise this important NHS function.

"Now we learn that profit-seeking private firm Capita plans to slash jobs in Liverpool and across England.

"The administration of patients' records will now be done by staff who are no longer employed by the NHS and based outside Liverpool. Local knowledge and experience will be lost.

"Privatisation invariably worsens services to the public because money is taken out as profit rather than being reinvested in the service."

According to the NHS memo the first six sites to go - Chelmsford, Yeovil, Derby, Mansfield, Leicester and Lincoln - will shut as soon as December this year.

Bevan House in Liverpool is expected to close no later than May 2016, while the the final sites earmarked for closure in Walsall and Hertfordshire will be axed in October 2016.

Wavertree Labour MP Luciana Berger, a shadow health minister, said: "This is devastating news for staff who will now be very worried about their jobs.

"The priority must be to ensure that they receive all the information, guidance and help they need in the coming months.

"I will be holding NHS England to account to ensure that staff receive the best possible support."

In the leaked document, Capita says the closures are necessary "in order to meet the service improvement and cost challenges that NHS England has required of us".

(Image: MIRROR)

Capita has yet to be formally awarded the contract until certain legal work is finalised, but the Government has said the firm is its "preferred bidder".

Unison says 931 NHS staff who work at all the primary care support centres across the country will transfer to the employment of Capita in September.

Around 150 of these will be offered alternative employment, the union claims, but the rest - around 800 - face redundancy.

Capita declined to comment further, saying it had not yet won the contract and is only at the "preferred bidder" stage.

In the leaked document, the firm says its closure plans will be subject to "further due diligence and consultation... with unions and staff".

The contract to run the centres is reportedly worth between £400m and £1bn for up to 10 years.

An NHS England spokesman said: “These proposals would release substantial administrative savings to reinvest in frontline health services, and will form the basis of full consultation with the employees involved."

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Ripe for the chop: Full list of centres threatened with closure

By the end of December 2015

Chelmsford - Swift House

Yeovil - Wynford House

Derby - Cardinal Square

Mansfield - Birch House

Leicester - Fosse House

Lincoln - Cross O'Cliff Court

By the end of March 2016

York - Blue Beck House

Edgware Community Hospital

Coventry Parkside

Preston - Astra Business Centre

Chester

Lancing

By the end of May 2016

Doncaster - White Rose House

York - Unit 3 Alpha Court

Huddersfield - Broad Lea House

Ipswich – Rushbrook House

Maidstone – Faith House

Maidstone - KPCA Distribution Centre

Liverpool - Bevan House

By the end of June 2016

London (Hillingdon) - Kirk House

London (NW1) - Stephenson House

Reading - Cremyll Road

(Image: Google Street View)

By the end of July 2016

Surbiton - Ewell Road

By the end of August 2016

Darlington - Old Exchange

Hull - Health House

Bristol - South Plaza

Bridgwater - Mallard Court

By the end of October 2016