Millions missing out on seven-day access to GPs

New BBC analysis has found that more than five million people across England are unable to book an appointment with a GP outside of working hours.

The data shows that 10 per cent of registered patients live in areas where there is no access to GPs in evenings and at weekends, with critics claiming that the government has broken its promises, made by former Prime Minister David Cameron in 2014.

With NHS England maintaining that it was still on target to provide access to extended care for all patients by 1 October, the analysis reveals that 40 per cent of patients registered with GPs now have full provision, defined as ‘seven-day 8am to 8pm’ access to GPs. However, just over half the population have access to partial provision and only two areas offer full provision to GPs for all patients.

Worse still, approximately 5.4 million people, or 10 per cent of patients, have no access to GPs outside of normal working hours, with wider data highlighting widespread regional variation. For example, every patient has access to full provision in Herefordshire and Rushcliffe in Nottinghamshire, whereas in Sefton in Merseyside, two thirds of patients had no access to GPs outside of working hours, the highest percentage in England.

In response to the BBC report on GP access, Helen Stokes-Lampard, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: "We want to give patients access to services they need, and actually the great majority of GP practices are providing extended access to their services in some form already. But we know patient demand for these services varies, and it is essential that GP practices retain the flexibility to deliver their services in the most effective way, tailored to meet local patient need - not to meet arbitrary targets whereby their considerable efforts to provide additional services come to no avail.

"With the significant workforce constraints we are currently working under, extra services might only be offered by compromising existing services – either reducing the quantity or quality of core hours offerings, or both. Patients should already be able to access GP care when they need to through routine GP services and the GP out of hours service. What we need is better public awareness of the different services available for patients, so that they know where to turn when they become ill.”