Authors' recommendations: GP surgeries across the country are implementing new strategies such as extended hours, telephone consultation and role substitution to meet rising demands. Evaluation of extended hours shows uptake varies depending on locality and that uptake on Sundays is lower than on extended week-days and Saturdays. Overall there is limited impact on A&E activity. Telephone consultation shifts the workload from face-to-face to telephone contact and increases the number of primary care contacts within 28 days of the initial consultation. Role substitution is being widely promoted but the extent to which this will reduce GP workload is unclear. The whole-system implications of extended hours, telephone consultation and role substitution need to be considered. Each strategy has the potential to reveal unmet need and displace activity rather than reduce workload. The lack of good quality evidence around these approaches highlights the need to monitor and evaluate the outcomes of implementation.

Project Status: Completed

Year Published: 2015

URL for published report: http://www.york.ac.uk/media/crd/Ev%20briefing_Enhancing%20access%20in%20primary%20care.pdf

English language abstract: An English language summary is available

Publication Type: Not Assigned

Country: England

Organisation Name: University of York

Contact Address: University of York, York, Y01 5DD, United Kingdom. Tel: +44 1904 321040, Fax: +44 1904 321041,

Contact Name: crd@york.ac.uk

Contact Email: crd@york.ac.uk

Copyright: University of York