Campaigners fighting privatisation in the NHS say they will oppose any plans by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group to set up a new GP-led health centre in Oxfordshire.

According to Keep Our NHS Public (KONP), the Virgin Group wants to build and administer NHS health centres using sub-contracted GPs.

Services provided by GPs inside would remain on the NHS, other services including dentistry, laser eye surgery and physiotherapy would have to be paid for, according to KONP.

Although Virgin Healthcare has not announced any definite plans, campaigners say GPs are now being consulted about the idea. And the company is hosting an event on Monday in the city.

Dr Helen Groom, who works as a GP at the East Oxford health centre in Manzil Way, said Virgin was initially planning to provide a new GP surgery in the M4 corridor, while it is thought a second could follow in Oxfordshire, possibly in the Didcot area.

Campaigners will protest outside the meeting on Monday evening at St Hugh's College, in Oxford.

Dr Groom said: "I will be attending to find out more detailed information. The Government is pushing to open these primary care centres in areas of need, but Oxfordshire already has one of the highest levels of GPs per head of population in the whole of the country.

"We also believe that Virgin will try to entice GPs to work in the new health centres by offering them a percentage of the profits from the centre."

A mobile cataract service, a previous private healthcare enterprise provided by Netcare, more than two years ago, was not a success because it was under-used.

But, during the past few months, Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust has been consulting patients on the establishment of new GP-led health centres. Mark Adams, chief executive of Virgin Healthcare, said on the company's website: "I'm delighted to announce that Virgin Healthcare is working with GP practices to open its first healthcare centres in 2008.

"Working in their current partnership structures and under their existing contracts, GPs will work with us, alongside other healthcare professionals, to jointly create centres that provide a selection of healthcare services for the benefit of all patients."

Lara McLeod, a spokesman for Virgin Healthcare, added: "We can't confirm any locations at present because we are in a consultation period with GPs and we will be meeting Oxfordshire GPs at the meeting on Monday.

"We are in detailed discussions regarding a GP centre in the M4 corridor."

Jacqui Pearce-Gervis, a spokesman for the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals Patients Forum, said patients did not want "polyclinics", but did want more convenient opening hours, such as some evenings and on Saturday mornings.