95 per cent of Oldham GPs open all hours

PEOPLE in Oldham have more chance of seeing a doctor out of working hours than almost anywhere else in the country.

Figures published yesterday by the Department of Health show 44 of the town’s 46 surgeries are offering extended hours — the equivalent of 95.6 per cent of all practices. It puts the figure for Oldham significantly higher than the 73.5 per cent of surgeries across England.

Shauna Dixon, director of clinical leadership at NHS Oldham, said: “This shows practices are listening to patients and responding to feedback.

“It also means more appointments are available, so it is easier for people to see a GP at a time convenient for them.

“Longer opening hours are one of a range of new initiatives which have been introduced to increase choice and improvehealthcare for patients.”

The push for extended opening hours follows changes to the GP contract agreed with the British Medical Association (BMA) last year.

It follows changes to the GP contract to reward practices that extend their opening hours by an average of three hours a week — in the early mornings, evenings or weekends or a combination of these.

Health Minister Ben Bradshaw said: “The public tell us they want greater flexibility in being able to see a GP at more convenient times and this is one important element to further improving the NHS.

“It is great news that almost three quarters of GP practices across England are now offering the public early morning, evening or weekend opening, and that some PCTs now have 100 per cent of GP surgeries offering extended opening hours.”

Each surgery will do things slightly differently, depending on when its patients want the extra appointments. For some it might be earlier in the morning and for others one or two evenings a week.