THOUSANDS of people have signed petitions at doctors surgeries opposing plans for a “polyclinic” in north Kent.

The Gravesend Messenger exclusively revealed the proposals by West Kent PCT to build a super surgery in the area – possibly in the Springhead Park development in Ebbsfleet Valley.

Since then petitions have sprung up at several GPs surgeries in Gravesham with thousands of patients registering their disapproval.

Dr Mustapha Tahir, a full-time GP at Riverview Park surgery in Gravesend, said: “These petitions were launched by the Kent Local Medical Committee (LMC) in opposition to Government plans to lump all GP practices into one huge centre.

“We are fighting to stop it because it will be just like the supermarkets killing off the corner shop.”

Dr Tahir, who is a member of the Kent LMC and chairman elect of the British Medical Association for the Dartford, Gravesham and Medway region, added: “People would be forced to travel further to see a doctor who will not know anything about them.”

The campaign against polyclinics, which is being mirrored nationally, ends tomorrow when all the signatures will be collected and handed to the Prime Minister in Downing Street.

The polyclinic for north Kent is currently out to tender by West Kent PCT and a spokeswoman for them defended the plans when they were revealed last month.

She said: “This is very exciting, and will mean improved levels of services for people living in Dartford and Gravesham. Depending on how the bidding process goes, we would hope to have it up and running by spring 2009.

“We can’t say there isn’t going to be any changes to current GP services, but we can assure people that this exercise is about providing more services not less.”