DEBATE: Should GP surgeries be open 12 hours a day, seven days a week? Is it affordable, or practicable?

“The move will make it easier for people see their family doctor from 8am to 8pm, seven days a week,” states Downing Street.

“It will help thousands who struggle to find GP appointments that fit in with their family and work life.”

The proposals have been met with consternation by some doctors though concerned about workforce and financial pressures.

Others meanwhile are embracing a more accessible system, but at what cost would this become possible?

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Dr Minesh Patel, lead GP for Horsham and Mid Sussex NHS Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “The pilot being established by NHS England in central England will be interesting to follow.

“We are aware that funding has been identified from within healthcare budgets in that local area to run the pilot and we are now seeking clarification as to potential resources in our part of the world.

“We are actively working with GP practices in Crawley, Horsham and Mid Sussex to develop services and capacity at a time of diminishing resources, increasing workload and complexity of work.

“This involves GPs working together as well as with communities and key partners to deliver the services that local patients need.

“A key part of this is to make best use of all our professionals including nurses, pharmacists, care workers and therapists. Not everything that GPs are currently being asked to do, necessarily needs to be done by doctors.

“There are, however, local challenges in each area such as finding additional workforce to extend GP Practices’ capacity as well as other NHS services to support seven day, 8am ‘til 8pm working, such as access to diagnostic and therapy services.”

Meanwhile, speaking to this paper, Dr Julius Parker, chief executive of Surrey and Sussex Local Medical Committee, the statutory representative body for NHS general practitioners, implied the new proposals could ironically reduce access to GPs at more traditional times.

He said: “We understand the issues of continuity and the desire of patients for access to GP services and it is important for patients to be able to see medical professionals when they need to.

“But the difficulty is that stretching the already stretched workforce over seven days instead of five will not enhance continuity because physically it is not possible for colleagues to be there more often than they are now.