BMJ  2008;336:911 (26 April), doi:10.1136/bmj.39556.645162.DB

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NHS managers call for calm in debate on polyclinics

¹ London

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The NHS Confederation last week called on interested parties to keep calm and consider the evidence when evaluating the proposal for polyclinics made by the health minister Ara Darzi last summer (BMJ 2007;335:61; doi: 10.1136/bmj.39273.467697.DB).

Its report was attacked by opposition politicians for "missing the point" and was criticised by senior GPs.

The confederation’s anonymous report blames "misconceptions" about polyclinics for impeding the consideration of their benefits. Far from disrupting continuity of care or undermining general practice, it says, polyclinics can improve access as well as allow patients to see their own doctor.

The confederation also says that polyclinics are not appropriate in every area and that there need be "no national blueprint for how polyclinics should work."

Nigel Edwards, director of policy at the NHS Confederation, lambasted opponents of polyclinics, saying that "knee jerk reactions" based on "pre-existing agendas" could jeopardise future patients’ outcomes.

He said, "We . . . [Full text of this article]

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