Seven-day GP services will break us, says doctor

AN Oldham doctor has hit out at Government plans to introduce seven-day access to GP appointments as "wasteful, unachievable and downright dangerous to patients”.

Dr Zahid Chauhan of the Medlock Medical Practice, Failsworth, believes surgeries will “crack under the demand” imposed by funding cuts, the loss of GPs and an ageing population

In June 2014 the 12 Greater Manchester Clinical Commissioning Groups agreed that by the end of this year everyone in the area would have same-day access to primary care and diagnostic tests seven days a week. Each CCG is bidding for a share of the £7 million available in Greater Manchester to develop the scheme in their area.

"The seven-day access scheme is simply a smokescreen to cover a complete lack of investment in our surgeries,” said Dr Chauhan. "The vast majority of patient contacts are made with GPs and surgeries are supposed to be at the forefront of healthcare and yet not enough NHS funding is devoted to GP practices.

"It’s not the systems patients are dissatisfied with, it is the fact that they are so under-resourced.”

Dr Chauhan, who is also a Labour councillor for Alexandra ward, also slammed Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt’s plans to train an extra 5,000 GPs to staff a seven-day service, suggesting it wouldn’t be possible by Mr Hunt’s 2020 deadline.