GPs take on extra Saturday hours

Some health centres and GPs’ practices already open routinely on Saturdays but this month many more patients will be able to access urgent care from their local surgeries, because of funding from Bradford council and the district’s NHS clinical commissioning groups (CCGs).

Dr Aamer Khan, urgent care lead for Bradford City CCG, said: “It’s really good news that so many practices in Bradford are opening on Saturdays throughout January, which is one of the busiest months of the year for the NHS.

“Patients of practices which are not open will still be able to access urgent care through the NHS 111 service, instead of waiting at A&E when they don’t need to.

“Demand on emergency services increases dramatically at this time of year, so it is important that patients stop and think: does this injury or illness really require emergency treatment?

“Many winter health problems can be solved by staying at home and taking over the counter cold and flu remedies,” he added.