Cameron pledges seven-day GP services by 2020

Prime minister David Cameron has stated that seven-day GP services will be introduced in the NHS by 2020.

A new, voluntary contract for GPs has been unveiled to deliver seven-day care for all patients by the end of the current parliament, alongside proposals to deliver seven-day hospital services across half the country by 2018.

Key objectives of the new contract will include a reduction in bureaucracy compared to the 2004 contract, with the Quality and Outcomes Framework to be scrapped among other administrative functions.

The government also intends to make it a requirement in its new mandate to NHS England to ensure it works with clinical commissioning groups to ensure every patient has access to seven-day services by the end of the decade.

To support this, around ten billion pounds in funding will be made available, with 750 million pounds to be spent over the next three years to fund improvements in premises, technology and modern ways of working.

Prime minister David Cameron said: "Our plans for a truly seven-day NHS will transform services for millions of patients. It will offer hardworking taxpayers and families the security of the care they need at a time that is convenient to them."