Extended working hours

More patients are seeing their GPs during extended opening hours in a trend that looks to be finally taking off. GPs are making the commitment and more patients are seeing notices put up in GP surgery reception areas announcing plans to offer consultations in extended working hours.

So far more than 50 per cent of GP surgeries are offering the more flexible appointments that time pressured patients want.

Dr Graham Box, Chief Executive of the National Association for Patient Participation, said: “Patients greatly value high quality general practice and it is real progress when this is provided in a way that better suits local people. This is not just a question of convenience since improved access will also improve health outcomes, as people will be less likely to put off going to see their GP.”

Alan Johnson, Secretary of State for Health, said: “In a modern NHS, ensuring that busy patients have access to a GP at a convenient time is a top priority. Thanks to the hard work of GPs and the local NHS we have achieved our challenging target ahead of schedule. It is fantastic news for GPs and patients that over half of GP practices up and down the country are now offering evening or weekend appointments and shows the progress achieved in delivering on the goals set out in Lord Darzi's NHS Review.”

The swing towards extended GP opening hours follows changes to the GP Contract agreed with the British Medical Association earlier this year, where the local NHS worked with family doctors in each area of the country to agree arrangements for extra weekend and/or evening opening.

 

GPs play a vital role in offering information and support to help people make healthy lifestyle choices and prevent illness and we are making real progress in addressing health inequalities through improving access and the record investments in primary care, he added.

 

Latest figures in September from the Department of Health show that in the past six months a 40 per cent increase in the number of surgeries now offering patients early morning, evening and weekend appointments to see a GP has been achieved.

 

As a result, GPs have met the Government’s challenging target three months early. Their mission was to have 50 per cent of practices offering extended opening hours by the end of this year. But by the end of September, more than 51 per cent of the 8,275 GP practices in England were reporting they now offer extended opening hours and others were informing patients they will soon do the same.