Patients' fears ignored as polyclinics increase

Health bosses are pressing ahead with polyclinics despite widespread opposition from Londoners.

Managers at the capital's 31 primary care trusts are in discussions about the proposed "supersurgeries" even though as few as 10 people have said they are in favour of them in some areas.

Polyclinics are central to the Government's overhaul of the health service but doctors and campaigners warn the reforms are being pushed through without proper thought. Latest figures show that more than 100 GP surgeries across London will shut to make way for polyclinics. Trusts to have drawn up closure plans include Haringey, Ealing, Kensington and Chelsea, Camden, City and Hackney, Enfield, Haringey and Lambeth.

Healthcare for London, which ran a £1million consultation on the proposals, claims that half of Londoners support the larger surgeries.

But a detailed breakdown of the consultation seen by the Evening Standard shows massive variation across the city, with fewer than 20 people in favour of the changes in areas such as Hammersmith and Fulham, Bexley and Tower Hamlets. It comes amid fresh concern that only 5,000 people responded to the proposals - less than one per cent of the population. The Standard has learned that:

In Bexley only 46 people - 0.02 per cent of the population - responded and half of those opposed the changes.

In Kensington and Chelsea only 12 people out of 57 strongly agreed GPs should be part of a polyclinic.

In Ealing more than half of people were against scrapping home visits by midwives.

In Kingston only three people out of 53 said care for children should be moved from hospitals to specialist centres.

Trusts are due to meet on 12 June to decide whether to approve the changes.

But NHS chiefs confirmed today that every one is already in talks about how to create the polyclinics. This comes ahead of publication of a report by a leading think tank into the impact of the changes. The King's Fund study, published tomorrow, will warn that shifting services out of hospitals could be more costly for the NHS in the long term.

It is also expected to conclude that patients could find it more difficult to visit their GP if services become massively centralised with polyclinics.

The British Medical Association and Londonwide Local Medical Committees are running campaigns in support of local GP surgeries, which they fear will be badly affected by the reforms.

Dr Stewart Drage, joint chief executive of Londonwide LMC, said: "NHS London's polyclinic agenda risks changing the landscape of general practice for ever. With as few as 46 people deciding the future of healthcare on behalf of an entire borough, it doesn't seem to be the most reliable way to take decisions." Health bosses defended their decision to push ahead with reforms.

A spokeswoman for NHS London denied it would do anything to " preempt" the trusts' meeting next week. She said: "Current work is focused on exploring the issues and gathering information in more depth on how the polyclinic service model could work."

Healthcare for London insisted family doctors would not be forced into polyclinics against their will and denied that GPs would lose out.

Primary Care Trust Number of people who
responded to
the consultation
number who
strongly agree
number who
strongly disagree.
Barking and Dagenham PCT 88 34 3
Barnet PCT 141 12 30
Bexley PCT 46 12 12
Brent Teaching PCT 25 12  
Bromley PCT 131 20 40
Camden PCT 134 25 31
City and Hackney teaching PCT 142 26 34
Croydon PCT 98 16 13
Ealing PCT 232 57 37
Enfield PCT 58 9 16
Greenwich Teaching PCT 68 22 4
Hammersmith and Fulham PCT 61 16 13
Haringey Teaching PCT 87 14 30
Harrow PCT 98 29 12
Havering PCT 129 31 19
Hillingdon PCT 65 14 12
Hounslow PCT 142 47 22
Islington PCT 120 21 23
Kensington and Chelsea PCT 60 12 9
Kingston PCT 53 8 7
Lambeth PCT 113 15 25
Lewisham PCT 90 13 18
Newham PCT 89 27 11
Redbridge PCT 182 52 7
Richmond and Twickenham PCT 95 11 23
Southwark PCT 115 19 25
Surrey PCT 61 12 6
Sutton and Merton PCT 207 42 36
Tower Hamlets PCT 81 18 21
Waltham Forest PCT 177 42 16
Wandsworth PCT 155 25 16
Westminster PCT 91 24 10

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