Table 3.
Change in demand for practices providing various time periods relative to those not providing extended hours
| Change in demand for appointments before 8 am | Change in demand for appointments after 6.30 pm | Change in demand for appointments on Saturday | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Relative (absolute) | Relative (absolute) | Relative (absolute) | |
| Not providing extended hours (n= 191) | 0% (+3%) | 0% (+8%) | 0% (+21%) |
| Providing any extended hours time period (n = 405) | 0% (+3%) | -1%(+7%) | -2% (+19%) |
| Providing the relevant time period (n = 87,a313,b 134c) | 0% (+3%) | -1% (+7%) | -4% (+17%)d |
| Providing extended hours other than the relevant time periods (n = 318,a 92,b 271c) | 0% (+3%) | 0% (+8%) | −1% (+20%) |
Total 596 practices, 405 providing extended hours, 191 do not. Of practices providing requested hours:
do so before 8 am;
after 6.30 pm; and
on Saturday. Some practices provide additional appointments in more than one time period resulting in total periods exceeding total practices. Average absolute demand has risen for all time periods between 2007/2008 and 2008/2009; probably not a true increase, but owing to changes in the wording and structure of the questionnaires. Relative demand is the value compared to practices not providing extended hours (first row).
Only provision of Saturday appointments significantly lowered the relative demand for Saturday (P<0.001).