After hours availability of general practitioners in Canterbury/Westland: a survey

The results of a postal questionnaire to 185 general practitioners in the Canterbury-Westland agea are discussed. The intention was to describe the after hours provision for patients made by general practitioners. The study indicates that about one half of doctors are on call on weekdays evenings and about a third on weekends. Only a handful of doctors provide no cover. The kind of cover provided is discussed and the patient load during such hours is analysed. Figures are presented which suggest that Canterbury practitioners are marginally younger than the national average; that most doctors (100 out of 106 responding) have formal cover arrangements; that 82% are on duty no more than one weekend a month (less often for group practitioners); that about two-thirds have a regular half-day free during the week; that about two-thirds of after hours call are judged to be justified.