You can find an easy read version of this information here.

You can read this information as part of our consultation document here.

What is the GP Out of Hours Service?

The GP Out of Hours Service provides patients with urgent access to general practice services when GP practices are closed (6.30pm – 8am, Monday – Friday, and all day Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays). The service does not provide routine care; it is for people needing urgent treatment. The service is accessed by contacting NHS 111.  

If people contact NHS 111 out of hours and their health needs could be met by the GP Out of Hours Service, they will be offered either:  

• Advice over the phone (via the Clinical Assessment Service). 

• A face-to-face appointment at a base with a clinician. 

• A home visit by a clinician.  

There are nine bases that the GP Out of Hours service uses across Norfolk and Waveney, where people can be seen face-to-face. The bases have different operating hours; here are the current operating hours:  

King’s Lynn, Great Yarmouth, North Walsham, Norwich, Thetford,

• Monday – Friday, 18:30 – 8:00
• Weekends, 24hours

Beccles

• Monday – Friday, 18:30 – 8:00
• Weekends, 8:00 – 22:00

Lowestoft

• Monday – Friday, 18:30 – midnight
• Weekends, 24hours

Fakenham, Dereham

• Monday – Friday – not open
• Weekends, 8:00 – 20:00

These opening hours have mainly remained the same since 2015, however the number of people needing to go to a base has reduced over time. Overall, the number of people being seen at the bases for the GP Out of Hours Service has fallen from c55,000 in 2019 to c39,000 in 2024.  

This table shows the number of visits to each base in 2019 and 2024:  

At the same time, there has been an increase in the number of people who have contacted NHS 111 and have been helped over the phone, from c61,000 people in 2019 to c71,000 people in 2024. These are people that have not needed to go to one of the GP Out of Hours bases or needed a home visit.   

There is more information about the number of people using each base in our data pack.

What options are we considering for the GP Out of Hours Service?  

We have reviewed how much each of the bases are used by the GP Out of Hours Service. With fewer people needing to attend the bases for face-to-face appointments, we have developed a set of options for reducing the number of bases. These are described in detail below.  

For all the options, the biggest impact would be that some people would have to travel further if they were clinically assessed as needing a face-to-face appointment. We recognise that this would make it harder for some people to be seen, particularly for people that do not drive, have limited access to public transport or have lower incomes.  

There would continue to be a home visiting service for people who are clinically assessed as needing a home visit.  

We have drafted an Equality Impact Assessment which looks at the potential impact on different groups of people and what we could do to mitigate the impact.

The three options would deliver savings of between c£75,000 and c£120,000. The savings would be the result of the reduction in rent for the bases. There would not be a reduction in the number of clinicians seeing patients but there would be a reduction in the number of bases and the operating hours of some bases.