To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are taken by family health services authorities to monitor the number of night visits by general practitioners.
Family health service authorities collect information on night visit fee claims as part of their managerial responsibility to monitor the general practitioner's contract.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) whether there has been any change in the extent of night visits and out-of-hours work by general practitioners since the introduction of the new general practitioner contract;
(2) whether there have been any changes in the use by general practitioners of deputising services since the introduction of the new general practitioner contract.
We are currently conducting a bi-annual survey to collect data on the number of general practitioners who have consent to use a deputising service and the number of night visits made and by whom. The results should be available by the end of October.