Gordon Brown welcomes half of practices extending hours

Prime minister Gordon Brown has welcomed news that more than half of practices in England are now opening their surgeries for evening or weekend sessions.

Gordon Brown

Mr Brown said: ‘Better access to see a GP outside of work hours is something that matters to millions of busy families up and down the country. Today isn’t the end of the story though, we expect to see hundreds more GPs extending their hours before the end of the year.

‘This also comes on the day that Alan Johnson is outlining an agreement for further changes in the GP contract which will mean improvements in the quality of care in your GP surgery, including the offer for everyone over the age of 40 to get routine health check-ups on the NHS.

‘When you put these improvements alongside dramatic falls in infection rates and some of the lowest ever waiting times since the NHS was established – I think we can see a picture of real improvement for millions of families who depend on NHS services.’

neil.durham@haymarket.com

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