GP leaders have insisted that seven-day GP access is only successful through ‘significant, additional, short-term funding’ after a study finds that it significantly reduces A&E visits by patients at participating pilot practices.

Recent research by the University of Sussex has found that A&E visits from patients at practices participating in seven-day opening hours were down by 10 per cent midweek and by 18 per cent at the weekend. It also showed a reduction in A&E admissions and ambulance call-outs in these areas.

However, GP leaders pointed out that previous research contradicted these findings and said that the ‘soaring pressures’ on existing services meant that many practices were ‘barely able’ to provide adequate services five days a week, let alone seven.

According to the research, most of the reduction came from a drop in cases of moderate severity where patients were treated and discharged with instructions for follow-up with their GPs or specialists.

According to the researchers, this is because A&E medical staff could be particularly risk averse when dealing with an elderly patient since, at the time of consultation, they typically lack access to the patient’s medical history.

The report’s authors opine that, if in doubt, A&E physicians are likely to err on the side of caution and opt to admit such a patient. In contrast, had the same patient visited their GP, they might have been treated and sent home instead.

However, a spokesman for the General Practitioners’ Committee (GPC) warned that the study should be taken alongside other research, which has not shown a significant reduction in hospital activity.

He added that many of the pilots have shown that patients were not using appointments provided on a Sunday, thereby wasting vital NHS resources, and said that significant new funding is needed to enable the immediate increase in staff that would allow GPs to meet the growing needs of their patients.