PRIME MINISTER David Cameron has pledged that within five years, GP surgeries will open at weekends as well as on weekdays.
That will go down well with anyone who has ever fallen ill at the weekend. It has gone down less well with family doctors. The British Medical Association says there simply aren’t enough GPs – and that those there are are under huge pressure through struggling to cope with an ever-growing number of patients.
Those concerns are echoed by York GP Dr David Fair of the Jorvik Medical Practice.
Jorvik already opens on Saturday mornings. And Dr Fair said that in principle, every family doctor would like to make it easier for patients to get an appointment.
But insisting on having surgeries open on Saturdays and Sundays would mean fewer GPs available on weekdays, when surgeries were busier, he said.
Clearly there are issues that need addressing – both in terms of GP numbers and GP working practices.
But in an increasingly 24/7 age, it seems ridiculous that it remains so difficult to see your family doctor at the weekend. That needs to change.
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