In the past couple of weeks a large number of residents have been contacting David Lammy MP about the issue of ‘Polyclinics’ and the provision of GP care. He recently met with Haringey PCT to discuss this and other matters.

On Friday 13 June, David also met with Tottenham Young at Heart pensioners group at the Triangle Community Centre in Seven Sisters to discuss a wide range of issues of concern to older people in Haringey.

At the top of their agenda was the development of polyclinics in Tottenham.

After the meeting David said: “My constituents are raising some real concerns about primary health care in Tottenham, and about the development of polyclinics here.”

“I opened the Lordship Lane Health Centre a year ago, and I am pleased that it is delivering high-quality specialist services which are accessible to the local community.

“But clearly there are still issues to be resolved in some of our other new health centres.

“I will be pressing Haringey PCT to ensure that local residents and pensioners’ concerns are addressed, and that we get a model that provides the best possible care and accessibility; alongside preserving a patient’s personal relationship with their doctor."

He added:

“I am clear that any changes should be about delivering additional services to some of the most deprived communities in the borough. This should not about making patients travel over greater distances to see a GP if they don’t want to. And we must make sure that the overall number of GPs rises to tackle health inequality.

“Polyclinics have the potential to be the best of all worlds. But I will be challenging Haringey PCT and my colleagues in the Department for Health in the coming months to ensure that ‘polyclinics’ in Tottenham offer the full range of state-of-the-art healthcare so that the plan becomes as positive in practice as it is on paper.

“The aim should be a diversity of provision, both in the new health centres and GP surgeries - all providing excellent facilities and quality care.”