GP failings costing us £1billion, say firms sick of employees taking time off for doctor visits

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The Confederation of British Industry said millions of staff were forced to take time off work to visit GPs because they could not get evening or weekend appointments.

To tackle the problem, the CBI says ministers should make it easier for patients to switch GP if they are unhappy with the service.

It also wants patients to be able to register at more than one practice so they have access to GP services near their work as well as at home.

And, to force surgeries to improve, the CBI is calling for GP funding to be based on how they are rated by patients.

Last year 3.5million working days were lost to visits to GPs – four times as many days as were lost to industrial action.

The CBI put the cost to the economy of restricted opening times, difficulty in booking appointments and the limited services on offer at more than £1billion a year.

Deputy director general John Cridland said: "Billions of pounds of taxpayers' money is being spent on a GP system which seems unable to respond to patients' needs.

"Ten million adults in England alone cannot book an appointment with a GP more than 48 hours in advance."

Out-of-hours services have deteriorated over the last three years after a lucrative contract led to more than 90 per cent of GPs choosing not to be available to patients outside the hours of 8am to 6.30pm and at weekends