Seven day access to NHS primary care: how does England compare with Europe?

Healthcare systems globally are facing an increasing demand for care under stable or decreasing resources. It is often assumed that providing easier access to community-based general practice during evenings and weekends can reduce demand for emergency and other unscheduled care services, promoting more appropriate care and reducing the costs associated with expensive hospital-based treatment. However, evidence for this is mixed.1–3 In England’s NHS there is political pressure to expand general practice surgeries’ opening hours to progress towards a ‘seven-day NHS’.4 When considering extension of primary care opening hours in England, it is useful to compare primary care access across other countries in the European Union. Despite differences in healthcare commissioning and funding, European countries face comparable challenges such as ageing populations and increases in chronic conditions and mental health problems, all of particular relevance to primary care.5 This paper examines England’s current in-hours general practice services relative to those of European countries in order to better contextualise the debate on extending general practice opening hours