Clinics will hit patient care - GPs

The clinics - which will house a number of services under one roof - have come under fire over fears they will fail to provide value for money or offer patients continuity of care.

The British Medical Association (BMA) is concerned they could destabilise existing NHS services.

The poll of 300 GPs for Pulse newspaper found that 85% believed they will damage patient care.

Fewer than one in 10 (8%) said their local area had any need for a polyclinic and 90% would not want to work in one, with a third saying they would refuse.

GPs told the newspaper they believed the clinics will be staffed by large numbers of shift workers, which could damage continuity of care and the doctor-patient relationship.

Dr Amanda Cary, a GP in Radlett in Hertfordshire, said of the plan: "This is a direct order from No 10. It is not evidence-based. (It's) expensive and political interference at its worse."

Richard Hoey, deputy editor of Pulse, said: "The Government is ploughing ahead with a fundamental reorganisation of general practice, without properly consulting doctors or patients, and without a scrap of evidence that the changes will be beneficial.

"There's a wealth of evidence that patients value continuity of care and the relationship they have with their own doctor.

"But if your local practice is a polyclinic of 20, 30 or even 50 GPs, how can you ever expect to see the same one twice?"