Two-thirds of  patients value a convenient appointment over seeing the same GP, according to a survey by Which?.

32 percent of the 1,791 polled by the consumer agency reported that seeing a different doctor was the norm at their practice. Patients over the age of 55 are more likely to want to see the same doctor (75%) while the younger and full-time workers prioritise convenience.

www.which.co.uk

Half of the public fear there will be charges for some NHS services within 10 years according to a poll by the BMA.

The majority (93%) of the 1000 questionned agree that the NHS should remain free however just 42 percent believe that changes to the NHS in the past decade have succeeded. Commercial companies providing NHS services were opposed by 51 percent of respondents.

www.bma.org.uk

Three-quarters of callers to NHS Direct (73%) would have attended their GP or A&E if they did not have the service, according to independent research.

Almost half (41%) were advised by the helpline to treat themselves, with just 28 percent referred to a GP and 11 percent to A&E. 95 percent of the 4163 callers questionned stated they were satisfied with the service.

www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk

Cutting junior doctor’s hours does not compromise patients’ safety and could dramatically reduce mistakes, according to research by the University of Warwick Medical School.

The intervention study, the first in the UK and Europe, looked at the impact of a 48 hour EWTD compliant rota on medical errors and patients' safety over a 12 week period. It found that those on shorter rotas benefited from longer sleep time - 7.26 hours per day compared with 6.75 hours a day on a normal rota – and produced a third (32.7%) fewer medical errors.