Doctors attack polyclinics plan in shake-up of NHS

Radical theatre: it is planned to replace GP surgeries with 150 polysurgeries offering everything from X-rays to operations

Leading doctors today attacked plans to create supersurgeries across London.

The British Medical Association said it had "severe reservations" about a proposed shake-up of the NHS in the capital.

It said patients would have to travel farther to visit a doctor and raised concerns about changes to accident and emergency.

But the doctors' union admitted that the NHS in London needed to change and that some services should be centralised.

Health bosses are planning a radical overhaul, including the replacement of traditional GP surgeries with 150 "poly-clinics" where groups of doctors offer everything from X-rays to operations.

General hospitals will also make way for specialist centres and three "major trauma" units will specialise in multiple injuries. The 10-year blueprint, drawn up by health minister Lord Darzi, still has to pass a consultation but today the BMA issued its formal response.

It said the plans could "fragment" the health system and said there were already community hospitals that could be used instead of polyclinics. However, it said heart attack patients and trauma victims could benefit if specialist units were created.

The BMA fears doctors will be coerced into new polyclinics and that some patients could suffer if local A&E departments lose night-time emergency surgery.

A spokesman for the NHS in London said the BMA had misunderstood parts of the report and that no one would be forced into a polyclinic.

He added: "We welcome the BMA's contribution to the debate. Their views are largely supported but raise some concerns mainly around implementation."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in