Decision due on first ‘super surgery’ location

11:14am Tuesday 20th May 2008

Comments (11)   Have your say »

HEALTH bosses will make a decision on where North Yorkshire's first "super surgery" will be housed today.

But a York doctor is calling for a last-minute change of heart on the introduction of polyclinics, which have sparked fears that thousands of patients could soon be forced to pay if they want to see their GP.

North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust's board will announce tomorrow at a Malton meeting where the first of the super surgeries will be located, after which the contract to run it will be put out to tender.

This will give private healthcare firms the chance to bid for the chance to run GP services in North Yorkshire. Dr David Fair, of the Jorvik Medical Practice in York, says there should be a rethink.

"There is no evidence whatsoever that these super-surgeries offer value for money," he said. They may have some value in London where people have difficulty seeing a doctor directly, but that situation does not arise outside major urban areas. It would be a waste of money.

"If the Government has money to invest, it should invest it in the healthcare professionals it already has. I do not want to see money haemorrhaged away on private shareholders.

"If there is significant pressure put on the Government, they may be forced to reconsider their decision on super surgeries. They are just a gimmick to make the Government seem forward-thinking."

New legislation introduced at the end of last year allows private firms to bid for new NHS contracts, with the Department of Health claiming super surgeries would bring healthcare closer to patients' homes.

Jane Marshall, North Yorkshire and York PCT's director of commissioning and services, said: "Every PCT in the country has to commission a minimum of one of these equitable access to primary care services by December 2008 and they all need to be operational by the start of next year.

"In North Yorkshire and York, we have to deliver this service for our patients and we are going through a process of deciding where this will be.

"The quality of primary care in our PCT area is fantastic, but we need to see whether we can be better about what we do. Most people can gain access to primary care, but for those people who don't - such as commuters, homeless people and those whose lives mean they don't find it easy to turn up for appointments - there is no reason why we shouldn't do better.

"Today's discussion will be about where the service will be, and then there will be a process of putting it out to tender."