Dawn-to- dusk GPs

Hewitt plans to extend surgery hours and offer more NHS patients an annual ‘ MoT’

DOCTORS’ surgeries should open into the evenings and at weekends, Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt said yesterday.

She said patients could see see banks and supermarkets ‘open 24/7’ and wanted better access to their GPs. Some surgeries are already opening from 8am to 8pm and Miss Hewitt said discussions were being held about making that the norm in areas where there was a demand.

The idea of ‘ dawn to dusk’ opening, which also cover other community health services, was the most popular of five items in a massive public consultation exercise on health care.

The process culminated in a ‘citizens’ summit’ of 1,000 people in Birmingham.

Patients also said they wanted more NHS walk-in centres in convenient places such as railway stations and city centres.

Three out of four people questioned in Birmingham backed the idea of having regular ‘ health MoTs’, while there was strong support for cottage hospitals and more tests being provided in the community.

Bringing in more private sector providers to help deliver primary care services is another idea being discussed.

The suggestions, which Miss Hewitt will outline at the NHS Alliance conference in Harrogate today, are under consideration for inclusion in a White Paper on health care outside hospitals, to be finalised at the end of the year.

The Health Secretary said that while there

were high levels of satisfaction with

the family doctor service, patients

often faced problems getting

appointments at times to suit them.

While supermarkets were open

round the clock, she said, ‘patients

are telling us that you either see

your GP or, out of hours, go to A&E.

They want something in between.

‘ We have started putting something in between with NHS Direct

and walk-in centres. We also need to

make sure that GP surgeries

become more accessible.

‘Where the local population want

longer opening hours we have to

make sure GPs can deliver them.’

Under a new contract system

introduced only this year, GPs have

been able to stop working at nights

and weekends and stick to ‘ office

hours’. Patients who need to see a

GP at other times are referred to

doctors’ co- operatives or commerwould cial services. The White Paper may also let patients register with more than one practice, for example by s i g n i n g u p n e a r b o t h h o m e and work.

Miss Hewitt said a minority of surgeries were still operating restrictive booking policies, where patients have to ring between certain times on the day they want an appointment.

Appointments became a General Election issue when Tony Blair was confronted by a member of the audience of BBC TV’s Question Time who said she was unable to book in advance.

The problem has been blamed on Government targets demanding access within 48 hours – prompting surgeries to refuse bookings further ahead.

Dr Hamish Meldrum, chairman of the British Medical Association’s GP committee, said last night that GPs supported proposals to provide longer opening hours and more convenient services for patients.

But he warned: ‘ It will increase costs because of employing staff and having GPs working in shifts to cover longer hours.

‘It could also lead to some duplication of work and more inconvenience for patients because hospitals and laboratories have normal working hours. It means tests and other inquiries outside these times will have to be revisited. It’s not as simple as it seems.’

SALES of self-testing

medical kits are soaring, it was revealed yesterday. Market analysts Mintel say the market is worth £ 68million a year after rising 40 per cent in five years.

Pregnancy-testing kits account for around half the sales, but blood pressure monitors have seen the fastest growth – sales could hit £22million this year – with one in six adults checking themselves.

Ovulation tests make up nine per cent of the market, followed by blood glucose monitors.

Analyst Claire Birks said four out of five people now preferred to wait until they were really ill before visiting a doctor. Many turned to the Internet for advice.

j.hope@dailymail.co.uk