Selling off community health services in Ealing to one company would be a disastrous step towards privatising the NHS , according to health campaigners.

"Patients not Profits" and "Don’t Privatise Our NHS", are the slogans being used by Save Ealing NHS campaigners in an attempt to challenge the contract, which they say could be worth as much as a billion pounds over ten years.

Virgin Care is thought to be among the groups bidding for a contract to run Ealing's community health services including district nurses, children’s services and mental health services which are currently run by the NHS.

Eve Turner, from Ealing Save Our NHS, which organised a demonstration against the contract last month, said: "The record of private companies trying to run NHS services has been terrible.

Council leader Julian Bell joins Ealing Save our NHS campaigners outside Ealing Hospital

"At a time when Ealing Hospital is under threat, it would be disastrous to remove finances from the local NHS Trust, which currently runs many of these services.

"In fact, we are against the very idea of contracting out these services. Whoever wins the contract will be expected to magically replace hospital beds with care in the community and lay the basis for the closure of the proper A&E at Ealing.”

She added: "Virgin claim they are not in it for the profit, which we find unbelievable – they basically want a mainly privatised health service with an American style insurance system in which they could make massive profits.

"Ealing Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) should withdraw the contract and the NHS should be given the support it needs instead of wasting millions of pounds paying management consultants to devise projects like this."

The campaigners wanted London North West Hospitals NHS Trust to get the contract because it currently runs many of the services, but they say the Trust hasn't put in a bid because it does not believe the work could be done for the money being offered.

Ealing Hospital
Campaigners fear the sell-off could undermine the viability of Ealing Hospital

It has written to many of its staff to warn them of the changes.

Campaigners say this will remove work from the Trust, creating a financial crisis that could undermine the viability of Ealing Hospital.

Late last year Ealing CCG announced it planned to put NHS community services out to tender. Whoever gets the contact would run out of hospital services for 10 years.

They are concerned if the new provider can’t cope with the expectations placed on it, Ealing Hospital could suddenly have to pick up an increased workload at the same time as its finances are being cut.

It is understood that Virgin Healthcare has called a meeting with Ealing voluntary organisations to discuss how it might work with them if it wins the contract but the campaigners say it is ludicrous to think that local voluntary organisations can "substitute for proper NHS services".

Protesters march through Ealing in 2016 to save children's ward at Ealing Hospital

North West London Clinical Commissioning Groups issued a statement saying existing services are delivered by many different providers "with variation in service delivery, quality, configurations and efficiency".

It states: "Patient experience data and feedback suggests that services are fragmented, complex and difficult to navigate for the service user, and frontline health and social care staff. It is believed that this often leads to service users defaulting to use of acute services.

"Once established, the single contract will improve the coordination and delivery of out of hospital services, removing the inefficiencies of multiple contracts, by providing a unique opportunity to commission community services that are more coordinated and integrated."

The CCG says it is currently waiting for the bids to come in. Once this happens it will evaluate each bid and choose a provider before awarding the contract to start on May 1 2019.

Campaigners braved the snow in March for the weekly protest outside Ealing Hospital

It says the procurement process is designed to find the provider who will be able to "best deliver high quality services and deliver the transformation change that is needed to improve out of hospital services for the benefits of patients and the public".

The CCG will be establishing a strategic oversight partnership board - which will include Healthwatch as a member - to oversee the contract.

The new provider will be given a set of outcomes and quality measurements that they will have to deliver on and there will be tight monitoring of its performance.

The CCG says the first phase of transformation will focus on adult services including the implementation of single point of access for patients operating 24/7, 365 days a year, with clinical triage, rapid crisis response and discharge.

There will also be a 24/7 nursing service and a chronic pain service. The second phase of transformation will be with children’s services.

A Virgin Care spokesperson said: "As this is an ongoing procurement process, it would be inappropriate for us to comment."