Beware the ‘polyclinic’ (From Dudley News)

Beware the ‘polyclinic’

4:50pm Wednesday 5th March 2008 in Letters

DO we, the great British public, know what will be the result of Government plans for "polyclinics"?

Maybe we ought to realise that by doing away with local GP facilities, our communities will not be better served.

Ask yourselves, can you get to your GP on foot or a short car or bus journey? Do you pay to park at the surgery?

These proposals want most of that to change.

What about the elderly, disabled and young patients?

I for one am against the idea of "centralising" some health services to eliminate local GP surgeries.

If you have views on this subject, by all means enter the debate in this newspaper but also make your local MP, primary care trust and council aware you want to retain the GP system as it stands.

Polyclinics will not give us a better NHS.

If you bury your heads in the sand, you may find that when you look up again the deed is done and taxis and car parking at an inconvenient polyclinic has come to a borough near you...Dudley A TEE, via email