Hot topic: polyclinics
Plans to open three super-surgeries in the borough have been revealed as part of the Government’s review of NHS services lead by health minister, Lord Darzi.
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.
Lord Darzi’s proposals 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.
The British Medical Association is presenting Downing Street with a petition against the new centres signed by thirteen thousand doctors from across the country. They fear that centralising services into large specialist centres will sever the much-valued relationship between GPs and individual patients and make treatment more difficult to reach. They are also concerned that some GPs will be forced to close their practices altogether.
You can find out more about NHS plans for the capital at www.healthcareforlondon.nhs.uk (opens new window).
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As a busy, healthy, working resident of Hammersmith and Fulham, I feel that polyclinics can’t come fast enough! When I need to see a doctor, I need to do it fast and at a time that suits me. Polyclinics will allow me to do this. They won’t be great for everyone, but then we will still have our GP services. As part of the LDF, LBHF must be identifying sites for community facilities in convenient locations to serve the community. These are likely to be the prime properties, but you need to retain and develop them in partnership with the PCT. Remember, as the Leader you must consider all of us, not just limited groups of the community!
From A. Brown on 16/07/08
I have a few comments in relation to Polyclinics. 1: I was one of the respondents to the survey, and I must say the survey was conducted in a way that would have made Robert Mugabe proud: A questionnaire with references that required me to constantly look things up in the enclosed Lord Darzi ‘sales brochure’ with all the pros and hardly any cons. Based on this a result of 51% pro Polyclinics can not be seen as very convincing. 2: The issue with relationship with the GP: The point being is that a GP who is an owner of the clinic he is working in, is much more likely to be there for the long term, than one that is just hired as a normal employee. The risk for a place like Fulham is that the GPs will work there for a couple of years after graduating, and as soon as they are starting a family they will move out (due to cost of living and that GPs can get jobs everywhere). In this way both the quality of GP services and the relationship patient-GP will deteriorate. 3: The government must get their story straight. In the same week a doctor in the PCT stated on BBC London that about 100 practises will close in London. One minister went out and said no GP practises will close. Sorry, who is not telling the truth, the PCT guy, the minister or both?
From Johan Godal on 26/06/08
If these clinics become as centralized as our hospitals, users will need to travel a good distance for their non emergency care. Now, most people can access a local doctor's surgery. It would be sensible to improve those surgery hours, first.
From Susan Warren on 22/06/08
I think this can only be a good idea -more resources available for sick people. There is no reason why you shouldn't still be able to see your local GP, but if you have something slightly more urgent or your GP can't fit you in you can go here. I don't see the problem.
From Jeremy Trevathan on 21/06/08
Hammersmith & Fulham Council leader Stephen Greenhalgh:
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. Many people really value that individual relationship where your GP knows your medical history and may have treated several generations of your family. The prospect of having to travel some distance to see a GP is also very worrying, particularly for the elderly and disabled and for parents with small children. We will be seeking much more clarity about how super-surgeries will affect our existing GPs and assurances from the PCT that these plans really are a step forward for local people.
Dr Josip Car GP, from the local primary care trust:
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.
