A WEYMOUTH GP has stressed that more needs to be done to increase staffing at county GP surgeries.

Dr Jon Orrell, a GP at Royal Crescent Practice in Weymouth says that GP practices across the county needed more doctors despite welcoming Dorset CCG’s plans to bring extended hours to Dorset by October 2018.

It comes as figures show that less than two-third thirds of people registered with GP surgeries in Dorset had access to doctor appointments out of normal weekday hours.

A spokesperson for Dorset CCG said: “We have been working to commission improved access to general practice services across Dorset.

“Groups of general practices have been working together in their local areas, and are now offering a range of evening services across the week and at weekends throughout the county.

“They are also on plan to meet the full additional hours of access by October 2018.”

Dr Orrell, added: “It is a useful add-on for commuters and shift workers however it doesn’t replace the need for daytime general practice.

“Patients should have access to a regular GP because they are aware of patients healthcare conditions especially for older people who tend to have more issues wrong with them.

“That regular access means that you don’t have to explain to another GP as to what your issues are.

“If you don’t see a regular GP, there is a risk of increased death rates and admission rates to hospital.

“Here at Royal Crescent, we are very lucky that we are fully staffed however other practices across the county aren’t as lucky.”

The announcement comes as part of a pledge by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt last year who promised that everyone should have “more convenient access to GP services, including appointments at evening and weekends” with the government looking at implementing this in 2020.

However, the promises are estimated to cost the government around £400m.

Across Dorset, 12,074 (1.5 per cent) of people do not currently have access to a GP appointment.

However, 65.7 per cent of patients are described as having ‘full provision’ which is determined as when people have access to pre-bookable appointments on a Saturday and on Sundays and every weekday for at least 1.5 hours outside of normal hours.

Meanwhile, 32.8 per cent having ‘partial provision’ – extended hours on at least one day a week.

Currently, only two CCGs in England offer full provision across all GP practices – Herefordshire and Rushcliffe – but NHS England said it was “ahead of schedule” with the roll-out.

A spokesman for NHS England said: “The NHS is investing at least £258m this year to offer improved access to general practice, including evening and weekend appointments.

“This is ahead of schedule with appointments available to more than half the country now and they will be available across the whole country by October this year.”

However, the British Medical Association (BMA) said that government spending should be focused on existing resources.

Dr Richard Vautrey, British Medical Association GP committee chair, added: “While schemes like this are rolled out and are successful in providing the services they are commissioned to do, we still believe the money invested in such programmes would be better spent improving core GP services.

“We know that patients are frustrated with being unable to get timely appointments during regular working hours, owing to increased demand and unmanageable GP workloads, and therefore it is these services that should be a priority for proper funding.”

Professor Kamila Hawthorne, Royal College of GPs vice chairman, added: “General practice is currently facing intense resource and workforce pressures, which is making it increasingly difficult for patients to access our services and unfortunately, waiting to see ‘their’ GP means patients may have to wait even longer for an appointment.”