GPS to open on Saturdays and in the evenings under new plan

PATIENTS will be able to see a GP on Saturdays and in the evenings – under new NHS plans.

GP appointments will be available until 8pm on weekdays and from 9am to 5pm on Saturdays, according to NHS England.

As well as seeing a family doctor or a nurse, patients will also be able to access other services out-of-hours, including screenings, vaccinations and health checks.

Each local hub of GP surgeries – also known as Primary Care Networks – will be required to provide the service from October.

This might mean that patients do not attend their usual surgery during the outof-hours appointments.

It comes as latest figures show that GP practices across Stoke-on-trent and Staffordshire provided 389,828 appointments in September – 44,570 more than during the same period in 2019.

The figure includes both face-to-face and remote consultations, with physical appointments currently accounting for 62 per cent of the total.

A letter setting out the new contract arrangements for GPS in England also orders surgeries to make at least 25 per cent of their appointments available to book online – a move which could prevent vast numbers of patients waiting for long periods on the telephone to book appointments.

The NHS said the move is ‘in line with patient preference and need.’

But leading doctors have expressed ‘bitter disappointment’ over the GP contract changes.

The British Medical Association said it has been in negotiations with the health service about the contract changes, but the letter setting out the changes was published before an agreement had been reached.

Commenting on the proposals, Dr Farah Jameel, BMA England GP committee chair, said: “We are bitterly disappointed that NHS England has chosen to ignore the appeals from the profession and the needs of patients in the letter.

“Despite our best efforts to outline a number of positive and constructive solutions that would make a difference to practices’ ability to improve care for patients, NHS England has instead decided to follow a path laid out three years ago, long before the arrival of Covid-19, and roll over a contract that fails to address the current pressures faced by general practice.”