The UK government is hoping to negotiate a new deal with GPs if they agree to open for seven days.
Problems surrounding waiting times for members of the public to get appointments has been debated and questioned for quite some time now. Many have said due to not being able to get an appointment with a GP, they have resorted to going to the accident and emergency department in their local hospitals which has in turn put a strain on the emergency departments.
The Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt is said to promise extra investments and help for services that are struggling. This would be an increase of 5000 new General Practitioners and 5000 more support staff including nurses to help ease the pressures. However these incentives would be in return for GPs if they agree to the extended hours Hunt is proposing.
Dr. Chaand Nagpaul, of the British Medical Association says that the GPs are ready to work with the government to help sort out the problem.
“Pilots of seven-day routine working are increasingly demonstrating a low uptake of routine weekend appointments. Therefore, to make the most of the limited GP workforce and precious NHS resource, the government should focus on supporting practices during the day and further develop the current 24/7 urgent GP service so that patients can be confident of getting access to a quality GP service day and night,” said Dr. Nagpaul.