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Protesters win fight to scrap polyclinic
Anna Davis20 Nov 2008
PLANS to set up a polyclinic in a London hospital have been scrapped after protests.
Campaigners against the "super surgery" at University College London Hospital in Bloomsbury argued it would kill off local doctors' surgeries.
Camden primary care trust said it was withdrawing the project. The polyclinic would have included GP services, physiotherapists, district nurses and other health workers, along with tests such as X-ray and ultrasound.
The PCT may set up an "urgent care centre" at the hospital instead. Patients arriving at A&E with less serious symptoms, such as flu, would be treated there.
Former health secretary Frank Dobson, who campaigned against the project, said: "There may be a case for polyclinics being set up in under-doctored areas, but this area has some excellent GP practices.
"The whole idea of setting up polyclinics is to shift services away from hospitals into the community. But this proposal to set up the polyclinic at the hospital was potty."
Candy Udwin, from Keep Our NHS Public, said: "This is a huge victory for us and a significant climbdown for the PCT. People power has actually made them see sense."
A spokeswoman for Camden PCT said the polyclinic plan was no longer "feasible", and denied the proposal was withdrawn because of opposition.
She declined to explain the reasons behind the U-turn further but said the PCT was "committed to the development of polyclinics".
