TY - JOUR T1 - Access to general practice in England: time for a policy rethink JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 606 LP - 607 DO - 10.3399/bjgp15X687601 VL - 65 IS - 640 AU - Julian M Simpson AU - Kath Checkland AU - Stephanie Snow AU - Jennifer Voorhees AU - Katy Rothwell AU - Aneez Esmail Y1 - 2015/11/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/65/640/606.abstract N2 - Improving access to general practice is one of the current priorities of healthcare policy in England and offering patients timely access is central to this agenda. A £50 million ‘Challenge Fund’ to support pilot initiatives offering GP appointments earlier and later in the day was set up in 2013 and a further £400 million has now been pledged to expand this programme. British Prime Minister David Cameron has promised that patients will be able to see a GP 7 days a week from 8 am to 8 pm and his Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has outlined plans to recruit an additional 5000 GPs to make this possible.1,2 The Government believes that this policy will reduce admissions to accident and emergency (A&E) services.3 However, its approach is not based on any detailed evidence that there is a strong link between access to general practice and recourse to A&E.4 It also involves privileging a particular dimension of access to general practice over others. This article explores how policy came to be dominated by concerns about speed and convenience, and calls for a wider debate that incorporates other aspects of access.Access to general practice can be described as having three main components:5 physical access: that is, the availability of GPs, distance and transport, design of premises, the availability of home visits;timely access: that is, the availability of appointments and the satisfaction of patients with opening hours; the provision of out-of-hours care and waiting times; andchoice: that is, the choice of practice and choice of professional (GP, named GP, sex of GP, practice nurse, or other health professional).If this definition is borne in mind, it would be logical to conclude that policy aimed at improving access would involve addressing these different dimensions of care … ER -