Out-of-hours Care
Health
Steve Webb (Shadow Secretary of State for Health, Health; Northavon, Liberal Democrat)
To ask the Secretary of State for Health
(1) what the average hourly rate of pay was for GPs providing out-of-hours care in 2005-06;
(2) if she will conduct an evaluation of standards of out-of-hours care following the introduction of the general medical service contract in 2004; and if she will make a statement.
Caroline Flint (Minister of State (Public Health), Department of Health; Don Valley, Labour)
Information on general practitioner pay for out-of-hours services is not collected centrally.
The National Audit Office published a report on "The Provision of Out-of-hours Care in England" on
The report highlights that patient experiences of out-of-hours services are generally positive.
Eight out of 10 patients are satisfied with the service, while six out of 10 rate the service as excellent or good.