| GPs' working hours 'vary significantly across the country' | Posted on 03/02/2010 in Medical Government/ NHS related news The working hours GPs choose to take on varies greatly across the UK, it has been pointed out, suggesting that out-of-hours services are more readily available for some patients than others.
This is according to Mike O'Brien, the current health minister, told GMTV that "there is an unacceptable variation between primary care trusts".
Mr O'Brien revealed that, due to this, the government plans to conduct a study into weekend and night care services.
However, he added that the situation has improved since 2004, when doctors stopped providing cover.
His comments came following research undertaken by the Primary Care Foundation, which found that the number of patients receiving home visits varied across the country from one in four to one in 50.
The data also indicated that some areas have one GP per 300,000 people.
Last November, research conducted by the Commonwealth Fund across 11 EU nations found that 51 per cent of UK GPs believe that the level of healthcare offered in their country has improved over the last three years.Other news stories from 03/02/2010
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