Is the government being too hard in forcing family doctors to hold surgeries in the evenings and at weekends?
GPs themselves say it would place huge pressure on their resources and call the drive to extend their hours politically motivated. Prime Minister Gordon Brown has pledged to make it easier for patients to see their GPs out of hours.
A survey of 11,000 family doctors by their professional body, the British Medical Association (BMA), found last October that around half would be prepared to extend surgery hours if more money were made available but over 70 percent of them thought it would be a waste of resources.
But last year the Royal College of Physicians, which promotes the highest standards of medical practice, called out-of-hours care “largely inadequate” and noted that people were increasingly going to the Accident and Emergency departments of their local hospitals.
The argument has been tinged by the issue of GPs’ pay since former Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt said she thought doctors’ average 106,000 pounds salary was too much.
Do you think the present system of out-of-hours treatment, organised by local primary care trusts, works, or should the government stick to its guns?
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9 comments so far
wow, I work full time hours, and I also work during the evenings and weekends ontop of that. I have three jobs and I still struggle to pay my rent: so fail to see how an average GP salary of £106,000 per anum is justified especially when they fail to be flexible and accomodate those people who pay their already extortionate wages.
- Posted by GenevieveOpening at more convenient times would not cause an “end of general practice as we know it” catastrophy. These lazy doctors should stop holding the country to ransom.
I think GP’s should be brought back into line as this Government has already caved in to the GMC by increasing GP pay whilst letting them reduce their hours. It’s a joke to offer financial incentives for “additional” services when in fact funds should be “deducted” if the services are not provided as GP’s already get financial aid to improve servives and surgeries; much of which they pocket. Lets also not forget that GP’s will also get generous state pensions when they retire. The patient’s interests & choice should prevail and not the GP’s. In my family’s case, we have had to see the GP on 10 occassions over the last 2 years (due mainly to 2 young children) and this has been difficult either because the children have been ill at weekends / evenings or because the GP’s are only open for a few hours during the day. However when you get to the surgery, there is no other patient waiting in 75% of cases. Pay them for the work they do (like in Australia) and not for sitting around all day thinking of additional charges for patients.
- Posted by PaulI don’t really care how much GPs’ earn, I just want to be able to see one without having to take time off work. Given that it is this work time that generates the tax to pay GP’s wages, it is really galling that GP’s are so determined to protect thier weekends by working hours that don’t meet the public need.
The police, military and hospital staff, as well as other public sector employees all work to serve the public outside of business hours. What possible reason is there for GP’s to be any different?
They should sort a rota out, like most other public services, and provide a service at the times when most people need it. GP’s are compensated well enough to go sailing on Wednesday afternoons instead of Saturday morning.
- Posted by CharlieThe one thing that makes me feel sick is the GPs greed, closely followed by the stupidity of Government Ministers to agree such lucrative contracts. They appear to have no idea what it costs to maintain their incomes in work and in retirement. The cure - a good dose of reality. Their incomes and pensions must be adjusted to what the ordinary tax payer in the wealth creating part of the economy can afford to give them. A starting income of 2 x National Average Earnings (£60k) + 5% money purchase pension contribution would seem fair to most people. Extras need to be earned through out of hours services. Greedy GPs should reflect on how little public support they have. Their protistations only highlight their over generous benifts to a pulic who increasingly feel they are not getting value for money.
- Posted by NigelExactly - why don’t GPs just close for, say, a Tuesday morning and work late another night/weekend? It’s a nightmare trying to get to see a doctor, especially if you don’t want to tell everyone at work you need time off because something’s wrong.
- Posted by ChloeI have several friends who “work” as a GP yet none of them work full time (even the men). GPs have become so spoiled that they think having to do 2 surgeries a day is a tough day at the office ~ they should be kicked into touch and made to earn their mega bucks, it’s not simply a privilege of having passed their medical exams. They’re also unaware of the needs of real people to have GP facilities available to them outside normal working hours as most GPs have the luxury of being able to sort their own ills and even more sickening they get reduced rates for having babies privately etc ~ yet another doctor’s privilege. At the end of the day their humans not gods and don’t deserve to be treated as such!
- Posted by RinaMy friend’s husband is a GP and even she says he earns a lot of money. He then works as an out of hours GP at a local centre for patients referred by NHS DIRECT!!! For this she told me he also earns a lot of money, I believe she said £2000 per week!!!!!!!!! Is this why they do not want to work evenings and weekends. I believe they should also work nights as we in the hospital do because anyone who attends an out of hours centre to see a doctor is being seen “cold” ie the GP has no knowledge of past medical history. This I think is dangerous!!!
- Posted by KateIMO for any issue that is politically motivated, there is always a huge price to pay as there would be a huge gap in atention to detail.
- Posted by ObidikeThe GPs (through the BMA) should be coming out with the suggestions on how to improve this situation. These are very intelligent & capable people. Where the public can trust these people with their lives, i don’t see why their suggestions cannot be heard. For certain if i would have to trust someone, it rather be the doctor than a politician
GPs are Gods, compared to all the other self-intrested chattering class idiots who are quite happy to tolerate celebrity culture, professional footballer, media, poltical and city based ‘fat cats’who really show what greed and pointless existance are really all about!!
- Posted by James