GPs could lose funding over refusal to provide seven-day service

New guidance from the government has warned that GPs in England could lose extra funding if they fail to meet their commitments to provide a seven day service.

The government has directed that surgeries must open between 08:00 and 20:00, seven days a week, unless they can prove the demand is not there. The move is part of a wider strategy to reduce the number of patients going to under-pressure A&E departments.

Surgeries are currently expected to open between the core hours of 08:00 and 18:30, Monday to Friday, however, extra funding is available to those offering appointments outside those hours.

A statement for Downing Street said: "Most GPs do a fantastic job, and have their patients' interests firmly at heart.

"However, it is increasingly clear that a large number of surgeries are not providing the access that patients need - and that patients are suffering as a result because they are then forced to go to A&E to seek care.

"It's also bad for hospitals, who then face additional pressure on their services."

However, Nigel Edwards chief executive of the Nuffield Trust’s, countered: “If you haven't got more GPs and more practice nurses to do it, you haven't increased the number of appointments, you've just put additional pressure on a service that's already under a very severe level of pressure.”