Ministers want to open 150 new 'Polyclinics' as part of their belief that 'big is best' and that services now provided by hospitals can be brought closer to patients.
But a solution for urban areras may starve resources from country areas.
Doctors are opposed to the move. A poll of 300 GPs for the medical magazine Pulse found that 85% believe Polyclinics will damage patient care.
Healthcare experts have warned that small surgeries provide higher standards of medical care and foster the personal relationships between doctors and patients vital to high class primary care.
We must beware unintended consequences. For instance, attempts to reduce waiting times for GPs backfired badly when patients found it almost impossible to book an appointment in advance. And giving priority to non-urgent new patients has led to other patients suffering through delays to follow-up appointments.
Ministers should stop meddling and place greater trust in doctors to deliver services in ways that suit local people. Patients should be given more freedom to choose their GPs and to work with them to manage their hospital care.
Above all, Ministers should realise that arrangements that might work in cities and big towns often do not translate to small country towns and villages. People want to be close to their schools and surgeries, not faced with long journeys to access services.
I am hopeful that Shropshire County PCT now realise this and can persuade NHS chiefs to support the community's ambitious vision for expanding services in Ludlow at a redeveloped community hospital. This would mirror the success in Bridgnorth of bringing the GP practice onto the adjacent site at the expanded community hospital.
