GP surgeries in England ordered to stop half-day closing
Written by News on 19/08/2019
The NHS is ordering GP surgeries to stop half-day closing in England, making more than a quarter of a million doctor appointments become available.
More than 700 surgeries – around a tenth of England’s total number – are currently thought to be closed for part of the week, the NHS said.
Meanwhile, a small number of surgeries are opening for just 15 hours a week.
Half-day closures meant more than an estimated one million hours of GP time could have been lost last year, the NHS said.
As part of the NHS Long Term plan, practices will have to seek permission from local health authorities to close during working hours, or risk losing funding worth more than £40,000 per business.
Dr Nikki Kanani, acting director of NHS primary care, said GPs will also have to make more appointments before 8am and after 6.30pm.
She said: “By curbing half day closures we will be freeing up hundreds of thousands of appointments at a time when we know it can sometimes be tricky to see your GP.
“Whilst occasionally practices need to close for training that ensures the up to date skills of family doctors, our changes aim to further reduce regular half day closures and improve the availability of appointments across core hours in the week, supporting the best possible patient access in primary care.”
(c) Sky News 2019: GP surgeries in England ordered to stop half-day closing
