I was shocked to see the polyclinic in Hove hailed as an example of one of the only polyclinics in the country.1 I strongly supported the principle in the early 1990s, obtaining funding from the then regional health authority to build it, but it developed as far from the polyclinic concept as you will find.

The original concept was a new large general practice in Hove incorporating additional space for such luxuries as a hydrotherapy pool, physiotherapy, and outpatient and minor surgery facilities. Local general practitioners were antagonistic because their autonomy was …