title: Seven days a week, 8 AM to 8 PM: improving access to national health service primary care.
abstract: In October 2013, the British government announced plans to extend access to primary care in England, allowing patients to see their general practitioner from 8 AM to 8 PM 7 days a week. This announcement sparked considerable debate about the practical details of the proposal and whether extended access would relieve pressure on emergency departments. This article provides a background to primary care access in England and the main arguments in the current debate over extending primary care access to 7 days a week.
authors.affiliation: Department of Primary Care and Public Health, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom (Dr Easton); and Division of Primary Care, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom (Dr Baker).
authors.forename: Graham
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Easton
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Baker
mesh_terms: D001071:Appointments and Schedules; D004739:England; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D058996:Quality Improvement; D013222:State Medicine