The company has won a £330 million deal to take over the primary care support services run by NHS England.

Capita specialises in taking on public administration tasks.

NHS England claims the deal will cut costs by more than quarter over a seven-year period.

Capita will take over the services from the beginning of next month. Some 29 offices are due to close in the course of the year – reflecting a purge of the local facilities that were run by primary care trusts until two years ago.

Dr Richard Vautrey, chair of the British Medical Association’s GP committee, told the Health Service Journal: “The big question is whether Capita have enough resource to deliver the service – Primary Care Support was already overstretched.”