Wednesday, January 31, 2007

What happened to the Saturday surgery?

By Simon Cox and Richard Vadon

BBC Radio 4, The Investigation


What would you do if you were ill on a Saturday morning?

If you think you would go to your local GP's Saturday surgery we would advise you to check.

The Saturday surgery used to be a staple of British medical life.

It may have been just a few hours on a Saturday morning, but it helped fill the gap from Friday night until Monday morning.

Today finding a local GP whose surgery opens on Saturday is hard work.
f you go on the NHS website you can search for doctors who open their surgeries on Saturday.

According to the website there are 100 Saturday surgeries in London alone.

The Radio 4 series "The Investigation" called every one of the GPs on the list to find if they really did still open on Saturdays.

The results were clear: only eight of the surgeries actually did so. In total there are 1,300 GP practices in London.

SO WHAT DO YOU DO............................YOU GO TO A&E AT YOUR LOCAL HOSPITAL, THE GOVERNMENT WANT TO RECONFIGURE THESE, SO THEY COULD BE CLOSED AT WEEKENDS TOO, SO THE ANSWER...........................
DON'T GET ILL AT THE WEEKEND.....................................!