The latest big idea for the NHS is nothing new in Europe. The concept of the polyclinic - where patients can see a range of specialists under one roof - owes its inspiration to a 19th century doctor who once treated Goethe, and to socialist East Germany.

Back in 1810, Christoph Wilhem Hufeland realised many patients were too poor to afford conventional hospital treatment. Hufeland - whose clients included the Prussian royal family - founded a local polyclinic. Here, patients could see doctors, get treated and go home. This avoided the exorbitant cost of a hospital bed. The system was banned by Hitler, but flourished across communist eastern Europe. It has recently been revived.

There are now some 400 polyclinics across Germany. They offer a range of doctors who work together in the same building - gynaecologists; ear, nose and throat specialists; urologists; dentists; opticians; and GPs. Polyclinics do not offer accident and emergency services, and there are no beds. But for patients who need non-emergency treatment they are the ideal solution, offering a sort of congenial medical shopping arcade.

"We treat all but the most high-risk patients," said Uwe Netzer, a surgeon at Potsdam's polyclinic. "I can fix broken legs, repair veins, and operate on hernias. After a couple of hours my patients return home. They like it. They build up trust."

The polyclinic - conveniently located in the city centre - has its x-ray machine and surgical room on the ground floor. In total, there are 22 specialist doctors, allowing patients to get unrelated health problems solved at the same time.

"It's efficient, simple and cheap," Rainer Jeniche, spokesman for Germany's polyclinic association, said yesterday. "Doctors are all plugged into the same computer system, and can swap information on patients. There are savings because we buy everything in bulk."

He added: "It costs €50 (£34) a day to treat someone here, compared to €350 a day to treat them in hospital."

In 2004 Germany introduced a law allowing new polyclinics to be set up. Since then, dozens of hospitals have built or acquired them, swiftly realising the enormous savings that can be made. The only problem with the system is that - like much of Germany - polyclinics are shut at weekends. "If you break your leg playing football on a Monday you can come to me," Dr Netzer said. "But if you do it over the weekend you'll have to go to A&E."