Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of a daily cap on appointments to ensure (a) patient safety (b) acceptable working hours for GPs.

General practitioner (GP) practices are independent contractors to the National Health Service and their contracts require them to provide essential and additional services at such times within core hours, as are appropriate to meet the reasonable needs of patients. Core hours for GP practices contracted under General Medical Services (GMS) contracts are defined as 8:00 – 18:30, Monday – Friday, excluding weekends and bank holidays. Core hours for locally negotiated Personal Medical Services and Alternative Provider Medical Services are set out in their contract but largely mirror GMS opening hours or longer.

It is for each practice to determine any appointments system which they feel best meets the needs of their patients. Also, it is for GP practices to organise the delivery of their services to meet the terms of their contracts and to meet quality and safety standards set by the Care Quality Commission. Contractually, GP practices should report any disruption in the delivery of their services which could compromise their ability to meet the needs of their patients. GP practices may seek support from their local commissioner, including agreement to close the practice list to new patients or temporary suspension of patient registrations. The pressures on general practice are well known and that is why the General Practice Forward View sets out a multi-billion pound plan designed to reduce work load.