Around nine out of ten GPs are not in favour of opening up their services seven days a week, new survey has found.
The survey follows David Cameron’s election promise which says that if the Tories win the election they will guarantee access to a GP seven days a week by 2020. The British Medical Association’s survey has found that 94 per cent of GPs are not in favor of the idea.
The survey found that 51 per cent of GPs polled said they feel practices should offer some form of extended hours to patients, while 56 per cent said that working out-of-hours made them feel their workload had a detrimental effect on patient care.
However GPs said they were willing to explore other options to improve access, with 21 per cent of them suggesting they would not mind providing extended hours by working with other GPs.
The survey of more than 15,000 GPs revealed that only one in ten GPs feel that the standard 10 minute consultation time is adequate. Two thirds (67 per cent) are of the view that there should be longer consultations for certain groups of patients, including those with long-term conditions, and one in four (25 per cent) believe all patients need more time.
Commenting on the survey results, Dr Chaand Nagpaul, BMA GP committee chair, said “GPs want to provide better services and spend more time with their patients, especially the increasing number of older people who often have a range of multiple health needs that require intensive, coordinated care.
“Unfortunately, this landmark poll highlights that GPs’ ability to care for patients is being seriously undermined by escalating workload, inadequate resourcing and unnecessary paperwork. Many GPs do not feel they have enough time to spend with their patients and that these intense pressures are beginning to damage local services.
“We need politicians of all parties to stop playing games with the NHS and making glib promises to voters that ignore the reality that many GP practices are close to breaking point.
“Centralised targets and headline grabbing initiatives have the potential to do more harm to patients. Political parties instead must work with GPs and patients on a long term, sustained plan that delivers high quality healthcare to the public. Better funding, more GPs and improved facilities are important factors that need to be addressed.”
