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| One-stop clinics 'are the future' | One-stop clinics 'are the future' |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Clinics manned by a single doctor should be replaced by one-stop health shops run by several GPs, health minister Lord Darzi has told the BBC. | Clinics manned by a single doctor should be replaced by one-stop health shops run by several GPs, health minister Lord Darzi has told the BBC. |
| So-called 'polyclinics', which house GPs alongside medical services normally offered at hospitals, are better suited to patients' needs, Lord Darzi said. | So-called 'polyclinics', which house GPs alongside medical services normally offered at hospitals, are better suited to patients' needs, Lord Darzi said. |
| He has proposed them for London and says they would work across England. | |
| But the British Medical Association says they will be wasteful and will undermine continuity of patient care. | But the British Medical Association says they will be wasteful and will undermine continuity of patient care. |
| 'Fantastic relationship' | 'Fantastic relationship' |
| Lord Darzi told the BBC Breakfast programme that although "most patients love their GP" a change was coming. | Lord Darzi told the BBC Breakfast programme that although "most patients love their GP" a change was coming. |
| He said: "We need to separate that fantastic relationship between a patient and a doctor from where most practices now are on average four, five, six GPs working together under a single roof. | He said: "We need to separate that fantastic relationship between a patient and a doctor from where most practices now are on average four, five, six GPs working together under a single roof. |
| It's very important that whatever developments modern medicine brings, we don't lose that underlying personal relationship Peter Weaving GP class="" href="/1/hi/health/7024332.stm">Polyclinics - the future? | |
| "So I have no doubt in the future we are going to see a critical mass of general practitioners working together, rather than what we used to see in the past which were practices with a single-handed clinician." | "So I have no doubt in the future we are going to see a critical mass of general practitioners working together, rather than what we used to see in the past which were practices with a single-handed clinician." |
| Ministers have already said they want to establish 150 polyclinics across England. | |
| 'Cheapest bidder' | |
| But Richard Vautrey, deputy chairman of the British Medical Association's GP committee, accused the government of trying to impose a "London-centric" model on the whole country, when it was inappropriate for less populated areas. | |
| He said: "This is a government plan that is potentially going to waste hundreds of millions of pounds of scarce NHS resources, creating very large health centres that many areas of the country simply don't need or want." | |
| What I believe patients want is to have a regular relationship with a GP and when they require more specialist treatment to go to hospital Dr Anthony Halperin, Patients Association | |
| He also warned the government's proposals will bring competition for NHS work from large multinational private companies. | |
| "They are effectively going to be looking for the cheapest bidder, who is going to run these health centres," he added. | |
| Dr Anthony Halperin, chairman of the Patients Association, said he was not convinced by the idea of GPs and specialists working under the one roof. | |
| "What I believe patients want is to see their own GP, to have a regular relationship with a GP, and when they require further or more specialist treatment to go to a hospital," he said. | "What I believe patients want is to see their own GP, to have a regular relationship with a GP, and when they require further or more specialist treatment to go to a hospital," he said. |
| "What you are now doing is interposing a third layer of a polyclinic and I really don't see any advantage for it." | "What you are now doing is interposing a third layer of a polyclinic and I really don't see any advantage for it." |
| Cradle to grave | Cradle to grave |
| Peter Weaving, a GP in Brampton, near Carlisle, said being a general practitioner in the UK and being able to treat generations of the same family was a "wonderful thing". | Peter Weaving, a GP in Brampton, near Carlisle, said being a general practitioner in the UK and being able to treat generations of the same family was a "wonderful thing". |
| "I have been in practice for nearly 25 years," he said. "I have looked after patients from when they were babies to when they've grown up, and they've brought their babies to me. | "I have been in practice for nearly 25 years," he said. "I have looked after patients from when they were babies to when they've grown up, and they've brought their babies to me. |
| What we're really adamant about is that continuity of care, which really makes general practice in the UK the best in the world Prof Steve Field, Royal College of GPs | What we're really adamant about is that continuity of care, which really makes general practice in the UK the best in the world Prof Steve Field, Royal College of GPs |
| "It's very important that whatever developments modern medicine brings, we don't lose that underlying personal relationship." | "It's very important that whatever developments modern medicine brings, we don't lose that underlying personal relationship." |
| Professor Steve Field, from the Royal College of General Practitioners, told the BBC the organisation was not against the principle of polyclinics as long as the doctor-patient relationship was preserved. | Professor Steve Field, from the Royal College of General Practitioners, told the BBC the organisation was not against the principle of polyclinics as long as the doctor-patient relationship was preserved. |
| He said: "What we're really adamant about is that continuity of care you get in general practice, which really makes general practice in the UK the best in the world. | He said: "What we're really adamant about is that continuity of care you get in general practice, which really makes general practice in the UK the best in the world. |
| "And what we mustn't do is undo what's great." | "And what we mustn't do is undo what's great." |
| Lord Darzi has been commissioned by Prime Minister Gordon Brown to carry out a wholesale review of the NHS in England, and polyclinics were a high profile feature of his interim report published last year. | |
| He also proposed the introduction of polyclinics in his 2007 review of the NHS in London. | |
| A Department of Health spokeswoman said the proposals did not signal the end of small GP surgeries. | |
| She said: "Health centres with more than one doctor and some specialists can deliver integrated and more convenient services for patients and are already doing so in some areas. | |
| "However, it is for local people and clinicians to decide what they want in their community - what works in one area clearly might not be suitable for another." | |