Could polyclinics close down your GP's Practice?
The Government is pressing ahead and opening three of its controversial ‘polyclinics in Hammersmith and Fulham.
The new GP-lead centres, or ‘polyclinics’, will offer a wide range of services. They will open seven days a week with early morning and evening clinics.
They are being set up beside the existing emergency departments at Charing Cross Hospital and at Hammersmith Hospital. A third centre is being developed on Bloemfontein Road in White City.
The proposals have been made by Lord Darzi, as part of a review of the national health service.
So far, the polyclinics have met with a mixed reaction. In London, 51 per cent of people surveyed supported the idea of polyclinics, but concerns have also been raised by GPs, who fear that they will be forced out of their practices.
The British Medical Association has presented Downing Street with a petition against the new centres signed by thirteen thousand doctors from across the country.
Doctors say that centralising services into large specialist centres could sever the much-valued relationship between GPs and individual patients and make treatment more difficult to reach.
And Conservaitve councillor Stephen Greenhalgh, leader of Hammersmith and Fulham Council was also lukewarm about the proposed polyclinics. He said: “Longer opening hours and easier access to tests and minor treatments are of course a good idea, but not at the expense of the loss of an individual relationship with your GP. “We will be seeking much more clarity about how super-surgeries will affect our existing GPs.
Hammersmith & Fulham is currently served 33 by GP surgeries. NHS bosses are keen to assure residents that the three new super-surgeries will not lead to existing practices closing.
Dr Josip Car GP, from Hammersmith and Fulham primary care trust, said: “People who value seeing the same doctor every time will still be able to do so. There is no intention to prevent people seeing the doctor of their choice. The added benefit will be a wider range of services available under one roof and longer opening times.
“When speaking to local residents, we hear that people want to be able to see a GP in the early mornings, evenings and weekends. These new centres will provide that and much more.”
In an attempt to head off negative reaction to the review, health secretary Alan Johnson has pledged that no current GP practices will be closed or lose funding. He says; “The 150 super-surgeries will be in addition to existing ones and come with extra money.”
19 June, 2008