Jeremy Hunt's seven-day plan for GP surgeries could cost NHS £3bn a year

Medical helpline calculated conservative estimate of £500,000 for a typical practice but PM said 18 million will have evening and weekend access by 2016

Keeping a typical GP surgery open on weekends would cost an extra £500,000 a year, according to a report, which raises questions about the feasibility of health secretary Jeremy Hunt’s plans for a seven-day NHS.

If extended to England’s 8,000 practices, the analysis, based on “a typical English GP surgery in the home counties”, suggests the NHS could be left with a bill exceeding £3bn.

Related: NHS waiting times for elective surgery spiked last year, report finds

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