RCGP recommends GP federations but dismisses polyclinics

GPs should work together in collaborative groupings or “federations” to “provide the services patients want in the place they most want to receive it,” recommends a new report from the Royal College of General Practitioners. But it has come out against the establishment of polyclinics, as recommended by the health minister Ara Darzi in his recent report on health care in London (BMJ 2007;335:61, 14 July doi: 10.1136/bmj.39273.467697.DB).

The college's report argues that the current state of primary care is not sustainable, because of the fragmentation of care. It says that health inequalities and comorbidities need particular attention.

“If we are to meet the …