At least 4 million people were left without access to an out-of-hours doctor at some point last year because of inadequate staff cover and pressure on resources, it has been revealed.
The figures, which have raised alarm about patient safety in the NHS, were obtained by the GPs’ magazine Pulse in a freedom of information request to 104 out-of-hours commissioners of care.
Ten of the providers, covering about 4 million people, admitted that on some occasions last year shifts had been left unfilled, leaving patients with no out-of-hours cover.
In the areas hit, patients were told to go to A&E, while services had to rely on non-medically qualified urgent health practitioners, or nurses and paramedics.
Full story in The Guardian 3 February 2017