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In praise of polyclinics
• AN American company, United Health, has taken over the management of two health centres in Camden, a move that coincides with the introduction of polyclinics.
The day of the GP is gone, just as the day of the Nightingale ward is gone. A whole sea change is about to sweep away the mind-set of the established purveyors of health care. Their cages are being rattled and they don’t like it.
The public should examine what is on offer before they are swayed by the prophets of doom. The patient has everything to gain and nothing to lose when one considers the parlous state of the NHS. The health service title is a misnomer anyway. It is in fact a service for the sick. The healthy are able to take care of themselves. The new polyclinics, with modern diagnostic equipment and on-the-spot treatments for minor afflictions, will ease the burden on casualty departments and outpatient clinics.
Advances in minimal invasive surgery will be the norm. Infection will be easier to control. Recovery time will be shortened. Nurse practitioners will come into their own at last.
Accountants and clerks will do what they are trained for: to manage the paperwork. Medics will be freed to really see and know the human being they are treating. An annual MOT for all, to detect disease before it spreads, is a reality. And much, much more.
Everything that adds to the quality and quantity of life is possible under Lord Darzi’s proposals. We should welcome them.
DORIS DALY
Address supplied
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