Background
The Hammersmith and Fulham centres for health are hospital-based polyclinics in London. The Hammersmith centre for health opened on April 23, 2009 and was the first hospital-based polyclinic in London. The Fulham centre for health opened on September 8, 2009.
Why were the centres created?
Residents of Hammersmith and Fulham wanted more convenient and flexible GP services and quicker access to urgent care. The new centres for health will enhance existing services across the borough and deliver new ways of accessing urgent care and GP services.
History of polyclinics
In December 2006 London’s strategic health authority, NHS London, asked leading surgeon Professor the Lord Ara Darzi to carry out a review of healthcare in London.
Lord Darzi’s report, entitled Healthcare for London: a framework for action, recommended the creation of large, high-quality facilities called polyclinics that could offer a greater range of services than currently offered in GP practices, while being more accessible than hospitals.
• Download the Healthcare for London: a framework for action report
• Read more about polyclinics on the Healthcare for London website
