Polyclinics must connect to Sure Start
Sarah Cooper
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Polyclinics, the government-proposed centres that bring together GP and hospital services, must co-ordinate their work with schools and Sure Start children's centres, the NHS Confederation has urged.
The confederation, which represents the views of NHS organisations, said polyclinics need to fit in with health services already provided through children's centres and extended schools to be effective.
Jo Webber, deputy director of policy at the NHS Confederation, said: "Polyclinics would be a real benefit, if they can co-ordinate services for children within all these environments."
Health minister Lord Ara Darzi has proposed polyclinics as a way of providing NHS services in London. These centres could include post- and ante-natal clinics, community paediatric services and child and adolescent mental health care.
In a fresh report on the proposal, Ideas from Darzi: Polyclinics, the NHS Confederation called for commonsense debate on the move. The report, published last week, cautioned that polyclinics might not be suitable for all areas and that ministers must ensure the centres are created to improve the quality of care, not to save money.
"We're talking about a different model of providing services," said Webber. "We are not going to get a one-size-fits-all model."
She said when considering polyclinics as an option for care, health providers must consider the needs of the community, especially families: "They need to be child-friendly when producing these polyclinics."
She added that families would appreciate having the option of a clinic within 15 minutes' walk of their home. "People will welcome the fact they can get these services easily," she said.
Webber also said there could be advantages in polyclinics offering a mix of primary care services and some hospital services in one location. "For some families they will not have to go to hospitals to get the services they need," she said.
The NHS Confederation's report also calls for the local community to be involved in planning centres and that they should aim to complement existing local health services.
Lord Darzi set out the idea of polyclinics in the Healthcare for London: A framework for action policy paper.
