Polyclinics

EDM number 1465 in 2007-08, proposed by David Taylor on 30/04/2008.
Categorised under the topic of Health services.

That this House notes the queue of private health companies, including Serco, United Health, Virgin Healthcare and Assura, lining up behind the Government's polyclinics policy; observes that a survey undertaken by The Pulse magazine shows 85 per cent. of general practitioners feel that polyclinics will harm patient care; believes that all new polyclinics would be built from scratch and is alarmed that the total cost of the Government's plans is unknown; is concerned that the taxpayer will fund any future construction programme through costly, lengthy and inflexible private finance initiative contracts such as the local improvement finance trust; is wary of Lord Darzi's comment that his review represents an important opportunity to take stock of the progress of recent years in improving the quality of care and up the pace of improvement going forward; regards the Darzi Review as the political engine for polyclinics; further believes that polyclinics would introduce a system of free market competition in NHS primary health care to the detriment of general practice, patient access, the general practitioner-patient relationship and public service; finds it ironic that those nations which have been delivering health care through polyclinics are now generally retreating towards the long-standing existing UK model; and calls upon the Government to scrap its plans for polyclinics and to suspend the Darzi Review.

This motion has been signed by a total of 29 MPs.