Doctor’s appointments are getting easier to obtain for people living in Barking and Dagenham, thanks to the extended opening hours being offered.
GP hubs across the region are offering evening and weekend appointments to local residents, ensuring everybody has decent access to a doctor when they need it.
Figures published by the NHS show that 87 per cent of people registered with a GP in the Barking and Dagenham district can now book appointments on a Saturday, a Sunday, or outside the traditional hours through the week. This is an increase of 24 per cent from March 2017.
Out of Barking and Dagenham’s 44 GP practices that provided data to the NHS, 36 were offering appointments in all of these ‘out of hours’ slots and a further four were doing so in one or more of them.
This is part of the Government’s drive to ensure people have greater access to GP appointments, with 1 October being its target date for all patients in England to have access to extended hours.
The chair of Barking and Dagenham’s Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), Dr Jagan John, said: “If you do get ill or suffer a minor injury, there are lots of ways that you can get the right care you need in BHR (Barking and Dagenham, Havering and Redbridge).
“No one wants to spend hours sitting in A&E. Going to the right place ensures you receive the help you require as quickly as possible, and it also helps to free up A&E for people with life threatening injuries and illnesses.”
