Carry on doctor

WITH doctors not holding surgeries, many of us have to take up to half a day off work if we need to see a phyiscian, even if it's not urgent. The time involved is even worse for commuters, who may have to pencil in a day's absence for the most routine of appointments.

I appreciate in London there are walk-in clincis - there's one at Liverpool Street station and another near the Army and Navy Stores in Victoria - and while they are good for a casual, one-off chat, they're no substitute for seeing your own medic who has knowledge of your health history.

Enter Alan Johnson, the Health Secretary who is determined to force GPs to work more cunsumer friendly hours. He's not insisting doctors work extra hours, but in a multiple GP surgery, it should not be beyond the abilities of the doctors to work out a late evening rota.

Johnson has written to every GP in England to explain why he wants them to open at weekends and in the evenings. He insists patients want to see doctors  who "are now paid very well" - at a time more convenient to them.

The BMA is willing to have surgeries open for an extra two hours on average, the equivalent of 6.30pm to 8.30pm on a weekday evening or a Saturday morning surgery. But the Health Secretary thinks that's not enough.

Johnson, being the doctors' pay master, will no doubt get his way. And it's right that he does so. The NHS operates the benefit of us all, and what greater benefit can there be than the ability to pop into to see your GP on the way home from work