Tories: Polyclinics to cost extra £1.4bn

There will be a £1.4 billion "black hole" in the Government's finances as a result of plans for polyclinics, the Tories claimed today.

Health Secretary Alan Johnson has attacked doctors' leaders and the Conservatives for suggesting GP surgeries will close as new clinics are built.

He insists that polyclinics and GP-led health centres will be created with new money and that no GP surgeries are at risk.

The Tories said their figures showed that running GP surgeries alongside the new centres would mean an extra £1.4 billion would need to be found. However, Health Minister Ben Bradshaw said: "The Conservatives have either misunderstood or are deliberately misrepresenting what is happening.

"There are no plans to impose socalled polyclinics. The GP-led health centres - one in every primary care trust area - are in addition to existing services and people will be able to use them while remaining regis-tered with their own GP.

"The Tories are making a big error in siding with the British Medical Association leadership in their mendacious and misleading campaign against better GP services and extended opening."

The Conservatives said that if 271 new clinics were staffed with 25 GPs each, as recommended by junior health minister Lord Darzi's review for London, staffing and overhead costs alone would be £1.66 billion a year - but Labour had only provided £250 million in extra funding.

Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley said: "Alan Johnson hasn't done his sums properly."