Written question asked by Colin Pickthall (Labour) on Thursday, 27 January 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 7 February 2005. It was answered by Stephen Ladyman (Labour) on Monday, 7 February 2005 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Dept of Health

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of targets for general practitioner appointments on the new appointment systems general practitioner practices are adopting. - (Holding answer 3 February 2005).

Answer: Mr. Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect of targets for general practitioner appointments on the new appointment systems general practitioner practices are adopting. [211986] Dr. Ladyman :[holding answer 3 February 2005]: The Department routinely monitors the performance of the national health service against the NHS Plan target for primary care access. This process has identified that some practices are not allowing patients to book appointments more than one or two days ahead. This is not consistent with delivery of a patient-focused service and the Department is working with strategic health authorities to support primary care trusts and general practice in removing such restrictions on patient choice.

Secondary information