The Prime Minister gamely proclaimed his seven-day pilots a ‘success’ at the Conservative party conference this year and then declared he would roll them out nationwide if he wins the next election. A bold claim indeed as, at the time of his speech, many of them had not seen a single patient outside normal hours. Pulse went to seven areas given funding under the scheme and found only two had actually gone live.
Runner-up Health minister Dr Dan Poulter, for proclaiming a major success in boosting GP numbers, with 1,050 more ‘working and training GPs’ between 2010 and 2013 – and following the worst GP training recruitment round in seven years.
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