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Camden News - by TOM FOOT
Published: 3 July 2008

MP warns: If American businessmen come in things will change

LABOUR MP Frank Dobson has praised plans to open a polyclinic in Kentish Town.
The former health secretary said the merger of the James Wigg and Caversham Group practices would build on “a proven track record”. At a Save the NHS campaign meeting at Caversham Group Practice last Wednesday, Mr Dobson said: “There is nothing wrong with the concept of a polyclinic, providing it is meeting the needs of the people in the area.”
The Royal Free and University College hospitals have set aside space for polyclinics, potentially shutting 10 nearby surgeries and bundling doctors together under one super-sized roof.
Mr Dobson, Holborn and St Pancras MP, said there was “a fundamental difference” between hospital polyclinics, expected to be run by private firms, and the one proposed for Kentish Town. He said: “What we could end up having is an American company controlling the front door at UCH and Royal Free. If we get US businessmen coming in, things will change because a company’s first legal duty is to its shareholders, not to patients.”
Dr Stephen Amiel, a partner at Caversham for more than 30 years, said: “Our practice would never willingly give in to a private takeover. We are at a double advantage in that we own the practice building. We can hopefully show some of the few good things about polyclinics.”

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