GP surgeries are told to open late and at weekends

GP surgeries must open for routine appointments between 9am and 5pm on Saturdays and during weekday evenings, NHS bosses have said.

From October, patients will be able to book weekend and evening slots with “the full multi-disciplinary team” in a local practice, including for services such as screening, vaccinations and health checks.

The British Medical Association said it was “bitterly disappointed” by the changes, which had been imposed without its agreement. 

A letter tells GPs the appointments must be made available at least two weeks in advance. Same-day online booking should be possible “up until as close to the time slot as possible”. Any unused slots should be available for NHS111 to allocate to callers.

Some may be remote appointments, but networks are told to “ensure a reasonable number” of appointments are face-to-face consultations. 

Rachel Power, chief executive of the Patients Association, said: “There’s a great deal in this letter that patients will welcome, given the struggles they have had since the start of the pandemic to see their GPs face-to-face or even get through to their surgeries.”

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: The Times, 2 March 2022