GP practices across England will have to open to patients on Saturdays, according to reported new contracts.
Medical practices will also have to start offering weekday evening appointments.
A letter from NHS England has stated that GPs will need to provide ‘bookable appointments outside core hours within the Enhanced Access period’, which is between 6.30pm and 9pm on weekdays, and 9am to 5pm on Saturdays.
The letter states that ‘a range of general practice services’ will need to be made available, including screenings, vaccinations and health checks.
Some practices will be able to provide Enhanced Access outside of these hours if that’s what is in line with patient needs in their area.
ADVERTISEMENT
GPs will have to see patients on Saturdays and weekday evenings. Credit: NHS England
The new hours will become mandatory from 1 October this year, though preparations will begin in April.
The provision of evening and weekend appointments was agreed upon in 2019, but the pandemic delayed it coming into place until now.
ADVERTISEMENT
The revised contract was sent out as a letter from the director of primary care and the medical director of primary care at NHS England and NHS Improvement.
The British Medical Association said it was ‘bitterly disappointed’ that appeals had been ignored.
Dr Farah Jameel, the union’s GP committee chair, said: “We are bitterly disappointed that NHS England has chosen to ignore the appeals from the profession and the needs of patients in today’s letter.
“Today’s letter, presented to us with only a few hours’ notice, defies everything we were aiming to achieve in building a constructive relationship and sits at odds with positive conversations with government.
“GPs and practices will see today’s changes as devaluing their goodwill and demolishing their spirit.”
Featured image: NHS England
News
Police give crucial updates on human remains found close to M67 in Tameside earlier this week
Emily Sergeant
Crucial updates on the investigation into human remains found close to a Greater Manchester motorway have now been provided.
It comes after officers from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) were called out to the M67 in Tameside earlier this week shortly after 11pm on Monday (3 August) by road workers who made a discovery close to a bridge between junctions 3 and 4, while they were carrying our routine maintenance work on the motorway.
The motorway was then closed to the public for the majority of the following day (4 August) while a police investigation got underway.
Since then, a Home Office post-mortem has taken place to provide more details.
With police confirming that further enquiries are currently ‘ongoing’ and the investigation proceeding at pace, some information about the identity of the human remains has now been released.
It is now known that the body is that of a male aged between 20-28-years-old, approximately 5’5″ to 5’9″ tall and of medium build.
The ethnicity isn’t known at this stage, but it’s expected that this will be confirmed along with other details in due course.
“We are continuing to work with specialist teams to understand the full circumstances behind how the man’s body ended up by the bridge, how he died, and to locate next-of-kin to establish an identity,” GMP said in a statement.
Featured Image – Peter McDermott / Geograph (via Wikimedia Commons)
News
Mancs advised ‘do not travel’ today amid MAJOR region-wide train disruption
Daisy Jackson
Passengers across the North West are being told not to travel today, after a power failure triggered major disruption across the region.
A vast number of trains have been cancelled in and out of Greater Manchester due to the failure at Manchester Rail Operating Centre (ROC).
The disruption started earlier this afternoon but is expected to continue across all operator routes until the end of the day.
Now, rail operators are issuing ‘do not travel’ notices, and ticket acceptance has been put in place across all Bee Network buses and Metrolink services.
A statement shared by Manchester City Council: “Due to a power failure at the Manchester Rail Operating Centre (ROC), there is major disruption on the rail network across Greater Manchester, the north west of England and the Midlands.
“Delays and cancellations are expected on all operator routes across Greater Manchester until the end of today (Thursday 6th August). Rail operators have issued a do not travel notice with travel advice and the latest information HERE.
“Ticket acceptance is in place on all Bee Network buses and Metrolink services across Greater Manchester.”
Daisy Jackson -
2nd March 2022 
