New funding to support expanded GP appointment times

An extra 550 million pounds of NHS funding is to be made available to improve access to GPs, modernise GP surgeries and improve out-of-hospital care.

The aim of the Department of Health plans is to increase the availability of evening and weekend appointments, with 18 million people to be offered the option of out-of-hours, video, email and telephone consultations by March next year.

This will be the equivalent of 8,000 more appointments a day. Meanwhile, more than 8.5 million people will see redevelopment of their existing practices to increase clinical space and offer additional services.

Other new initiatives include offering greater access to pharmacists, nurses and speech therapists from local GP surgeries, as well as more personalised advice from pharmacists, who will be able to access medical records for the first time.

Additionally, more tests, treatments and services are to be provided closer to people's homes, including blood tests and minor operations.

Organisations such as the British Medical Association have urged a certain degree of caution over plans to deliver seven-day NHS services, calling for expanded and clearer funding plans to be detailed.