06 June 2008
The British Medical Association has demanded the government 'dump polyclinics', stop investing in private care and hand control of the NHS back to clinicians.
BMA consultants' leader Jonathan Fielden called for the health service to be emancipated from political control after a survey found that 60% of consultants did not believe polyclinics would improve the quality of patient care.
A network of 150 polyclinics – community-based health centres that would combine GP services with others traditionally found in hospitals, such as diagnostic screening – is expected to be one of the central planks of health minister Lord Darzi's Next Stage review report, due before the end of the month.
In a speech to the BMA consultants' committee's annual conference on June 4, Fielden urged the government to 'dump the polyclinic'. He added: 'Waiting times are at record lows, delivered not by the private sector but by the hard work and dedication of NHS staff, led by consultants.'
The survey of 1,500 consultants from across the UK also found that 70% did not believe they had adequate resources to perform their duties, while two-thirds believed their departments needed more consultants.
The King's Fund welcomed proposals to create polyclinics but warned that potential benefits, such as more patient-focused and integrated care, could be lost if implementation was poor.
The charity's report, published on June 5, says bringing a range of services together does not always result in better patient care. Under one roof adds that shifting specialist services out of hospital can be more expensive.
PFjun2008
