Change in demand for practices providing various time periods relative to those not providing extended hours
| Change in demand for appointments before 8 am | Change in demand for appointments after 6.30 pm | Change in demand for appointments on Saturday | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Relative (absolute) | Relative (absolute) | Relative (absolute) | |
| Not providing extended hours (n= 191) | 0% (+3%) | 0% (+8%) | 0% (+21%) |
| Providing any extended hours time period (n = 405) | 0% (+3%) | -1%(+7%) | -2% (+19%) |
| Providing the relevant time period (n = 87,a313,b 134c) | 0% (+3%) | -1% (+7%) | -4% (+17%)d |
| Providing extended hours other than the relevant time periods (n = 318,a 92,b 271c) | 0% (+3%) | 0% (+8%) | −1% (+20%) |
Total 596 practices, 405 providing extended hours, 191 do not. Of practices providing requested hours:
↵a do so before 8 am;
↵b after 6.30 pm; and
↵c on Saturday. Some practices provide additional appointments in more than one time period resulting in total periods exceeding total practices. Average absolute demand has risen for all time periods between 2007/2008 and 2008/2009; probably not a true increase, but owing to changes in the wording and structure of the questionnaires. Relative demand is the value compared to practices not providing extended hours (first row).
↵d Only provision of Saturday appointments significantly lowered the relative demand for Saturday (P<0.001).