UP to 50 family doctors' surgeries
will be axed across the region
under controversial plans to
transform care, the Tories
warned yesterday.
David Cameron said the creation
of "polyclinics" - bringing
together GPs, pharmacies and social
care services under one roof
- threatened the traditional
neighbourhood doctor.
Mr Cameron said 50 practices
would disappear in the North-
East, under the Government's assumption
that each polyclinic
would be staffed by 25 GPs.
advertisement
And he compared the impact
with the closure of thousands of
sub-post offices, a programme
that has triggered protests up
and down the country.
Worst hit would be Middlesbrough,
Stockton, Sunderland
and Gateshead, which would
each lose five GP surgeries, the
party calculated.
County Durham and Darlington,
Hartlepool, Redcar and
Cleveland, and Newcastle would
also lose practices.
Every primary care trust must
draw up plans for at least one
polyclinic
Mr Cameron said: "Communities
which have lost their post office,
their local shops, their local
police station, are going to lose
their doctor.
"So the Conservative Party
will fight Labour's plans to close
GP surgeries. We pledge to save
the family doctor service from
Gordon Brown's NHS cuts."
But Health Secretary Alan
Johnson said the Tory claim was
nonsense, insisting polyclinics
would be extra services set up
without cutting GP surgeries.
The proposal for polyclincs has
divided the medical profession.
The NHS Confederation hailed
their potential to improve care,
but a poll found that 80 per cent
of GPs feared they would undermine
the personal relationship
between doctor and patient.
Mr Cameron, launching his
"NH-Yes" campaign, said he was
not against polyclinics in principle,
but insisted they should not
be "imposed" on communities.
He added: "The people who
need GPs the most are the elderly,
those with small children and
those with long-term conditions.
Those are the people least able to
get to a polyclinic."
But Mr Johnson said: "We are
opening 150 new GP-run health
centres, open from 8am to 8pm,
seven days a week.
"And because this programme
is all paid for with new money,
none of it will lead to a reduction
in traditional GP services."
He also highlighted how the
Tory NHS "petition" argued for
GPs to be "free to determine the
opening hours, size and locations
of practices".
He said: "This is an astonishing
admission by the Conservatives.
They are now supporting a
free-for-all on opening hours,
which would see an end to the
evening and weekend opening
which has just been secured."
Posted by: DR Hitesh Kothari, Liverpool on 12:29pm Tue 22 Apr 08
Destroying centres of excellence( Hospitals) for the sake of political dogma is shameful and despicable. NHS caters to the needs of a densely populated island country. Polyclinics cater to a vast Russian nation.
Destroying centres of excellence( Hospitals) for the sake of political dogma is shameful and despicable. NHS caters to the needs of a densely populated island country. Polyclinics cater to a vast Russian nation.
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
Print
Email this
Comment
