Table 2

National requirement of the Designated Enhanced Service for extended hours

RequirementProportion of practices meeting requirement
Appointments available to all registered patientsNot systematically assessed
At least 30 minutes per 1000 patientsNot assessed
Periods to match patient preference in GPPSa207/405 (51%)
Periods to match patient preferencea: Before 8 am0/0
Periods to match patient preferencea: After 6.30 pm110/139(79%)
Periods to match patient preferencea: On Saturday106/290(37%)
Periods to match patient preferencea: On Sunday1/1 (100%)
Period at least 90 minutes in the eveningb129/213 (61%)
Period at least 90 minutes Saturdayb71/73 (97%)
No concurrent clinics in the extended hours periodNot assessed
No reduction in availability during core hoursNot assessed
Publicised on NHS Choices website (www.nhs.uk)c254/405 (63%)

  • ↵a Patient preference is determined by the period withmost requests as defined by national requirement.

  • ↵b Assessed for practices specifying duration of period on NHS choices (n = 254).

  • ↵c For study group n = 405.