Your local surgery needs you - please sign the online petition to show your support.

This year, the NHS is celebrating its 60th birthday. For 60 years local GP surgeries have been providing the personalised care that you and your family need close to home by people who know you and your health.

But we are very worried that new Government plans to change the way in which GP services are provided will put at risk the comprehensive, high-quality patient care that your local surgery provides.

Introduction of more commercial companies
Most NHS GP practices are independently run by local GPs on behalf of their patients. However, the Government is now encouraging commercial companies to run GP surgeries. These companies are accountable firstly to shareholders not patients. Commercial companies are likely to be offered short-term contracts. This could lead to a higher turnover of doctors who may not know you and your long-term health needs. This is bad for patients.

The Government plans to introduce up to 250 large new health centres - often called polyclinics - across England instead of funding extra services in local surgeries. Polyclinics are very expensive to develop and run and there is no evidence they are needed in many areas.

These health centres may contain up to 25 GPs, and we are worried that patients may lose the personal relationship they usually have with their current family doctor.

As a result of these changes we are concerned that many local surgeries may not survive. We believe NHS funds would be better spent on expanding the high-quality services at your own local GP surgery.

We want you to be treated by GPs who see you as patients, not customers.

We want the Government to:

• Improve services to patients by further investment in existing GP surgeries and not waste money on unwanted polyclinics
• Halt its plans to encourage commercial companies to run GP surgeries

Because we are so worried, we are collecting signatures for an England-wide petition that urges the Government to change its plans. We presented our petition to the Prime Minister on 12 June 2008 with the NHS General Practice 60th birthday card. At the time of presenting the petition, 1,236,085 signatures had been collected in just three weeks.
It's not just the Prime Minister we need to tell.

• Tell your friends and family and ask them to sign our petition as well.
• Write to the Primary Care Trust (PCT) which organises your local NHS services.
• Write to your MP.
• Write to your local Council (for the attention of their health overview and scrutiny committee).
• Write to a newspaper to tell them how much you support and value your local surgery.
• Your letters will be read, and your views can make a difference!