Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today

AbsenceStressLatest NewsHR practiceSickness absence

Primary care shake-up as government promises to get half of all GPs to deliver out-of-hours service

by Greg Pitcher 4 Oct 2007
by Greg Pitcher 4 Oct 2007

At least half of GP practices will open outside working hours, the government promised today.

Health secretary Alan Johnson said he had asked primary care trusts to ensure that one in two surgeries were available to patients one evening a week or every Saturday morning.

He also pledged to open 100 new GP practices in the areas that needed them most, along with 150 GP-run health centres that would stay open from 8am to 8pm every day of the week.

Johnson said: “”I am today announcing a major package of changes to improve access to GP services across the country so that more people can see a GP where they want to and at a time they want to.

“This is a massive investment in primary care provision and will benefit millions of patients across the country.”

His package of measures came in response to an interim report commissioned by prime minister Gordon Brown on the modernisation of the health service.

Lord Darzi’s report called for urgent action to make GPs more accessible to working people, in his interim report on the modernisation of the health service.

He called for new practices in easy-to-reach places, open for longer hours and offering help to those not directly registered there.

The report, Our NHS, Our Future, said:

  • New resources should be invested to bring new GP practices – whether organised on the traditional independent contractor model or by new private providers – to local communities where they are most needed.
  • Newly procured health centres in easily accessible locations should be offering all members of the local population a range of convenient services, even if they choose not to be directly registered with GPs in these centres.
  • Primary care trusts should introduce new measures to develop greater flexibility in GP opening hours, including the introduction of new providers. Our aim is that, over time, the majority of GP practices will offer patients much greater choice of when to see a GP, extending hours into evenings or weekends.”

On behalf of employers the CBI last month warned that millions of working days were being lost each year because people had to visit GPs far from work, during the working day.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Neil Bentley, CBI director of public services, said today: “Lord Darzi’s interim report makes all the right noises about how existing deficiencies in the family doctor service will be addressed.

“Some 3.5 million working days were spent in the GP surgery last year at a cost to the economy of £1bn. Increasing patient choice, introducing new providers and making more use of walk-in centres and pharmacies will lead to a more personalised and responsive NHS,” said Bentley.

Greg Pitcher

previous post
New programme launched to combat stress at work
next post
Tory leader David Cameron makes flexible working key element of bid to be prime minister

You may also like

Personnel Today Awards 2025: Final deadline on Monday

20 Jun 2025

Seven ways to prepare now for the Employment...

20 Jun 2025

Sniff a lemon on World Productivity Day and...

20 Jun 2025

Employees want more upskilling and apprenticeships to narrow...

20 Jun 2025

NHS pay disputes: Who could strike again?

20 Jun 2025

BBC Breakfast bullying and misconduct allegations under investigation

20 Jun 2025

AI company did not racially discriminate against Chinese...

20 Jun 2025

Financial analyst guilty of insider dealing while WFH

20 Jun 2025

Only a third of recruiters receive high-quality job...

20 Jun 2025

UK job market shows signs of resilience

20 Jun 2025

  • AI is here. Your workforce should be ready. SPONSORED | From content creation...Read more
  • Preparing for a new era of workforce planning (webinar) WEBINAR | Employers now face...Read more
  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today