By Kate Devlin, Medical Correspondent
More than one million patients have signed a petition protesting against plans to close hundreds of GP practices to make way for polyclinics.
The BMA is concerned that the new clinics will destroy the relationship between patients and their family doctor The signatures, collected by the British Medical Association (BMA) in just three weeks as part of its "Support Your Surgery" campaign, will be presented to Gordon Brown at Downing Street today.
The government cannot afford to ignore the level of patient concern over polyclinics, which have been dubbed "supersurgeries", doctors' leaders will say.
Ministers insist that the centres, designed to house up to 25 GPs under one roof along with other services such as minor surgery, will provide a better service for patients.
But the BMA claims they will destroy the relationship between patients and their family doctor and lead to more private companies running surgeries.
Analysis by the Tories suggests that 1,700 of the 8,700 GP practices in England could have to shut under the plans.
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