CONSERVATIVE MPs have called for answers as a pilot scheme offering seven-day access to GP services is axed after it emerged only 12 per cent of appointments were filled on Sundays.

Transport minister Robert Goodwill and Thirsk and Malton MP Kevin Hollinrake said Hambleton, Richmondshire and Whitby clinical commissioning group's (CCG) decision to end the project, part of David Cameron's pledge to extend daily access to GPs nationwide by 2020, raised a series of questions.

The abandonment of one of the first Open for Longer schemes, which served 21 North Yorkshire practices, is being seen as a blow to the Prime Minister's target of guaranteeing patients care “wherever they are and whenever they need it".

The CCG said the pilot, which began in Whitby in October and has run in Hambleton and Richmondshire since February, had also seen less than 50 per cent of slots booked on Saturdays, despite "considerable promotion" that GPs would be available daily, from 8am to 8pm.

GPs said it highlighted the differences in demand for appointments between rural and urban areas and that a one-size-fits all policy would waste resources.

CCG clinical lead Dr Vicky Pleydell said the scheme would end on June 30 as it had proved unpopular with patients, and in particular the hub model of delivery, which saw patients booking appointments at surgeries other than their own.

She said: "It is vital that we use resources given to us effectively for the benefit of local patients and this nationally-funded pilot has been successful in showing us that our resources are better spent on other initiatives."

Stephen Brown, of the Heartbeat Alliance, which runs Open for Longer, said the CCG's scheme had set out to establish if there was a demand for more GP appointments outside normal working hours and had been "very useful in establishing that local demand is already being met".

Scarborough and Whitby MP Mr Goodwill said a lack of delays in securing appointments during the week could have led to the "disappointing" uptake of appointments at weekends.

He said: "It would be useful to discover exactly why.

"For example, was the availability well enough publicised, particularly amongst working people who don’t visit the GP very often, or is it because communities like Whitby have a large number of retired people who can get to the doctors during office hours?"

Mr Hollinrake added: "Clearly, we need to look carefully at the experiences of the Hambleton, Richmondshire and Whitby pilot scheme and I will ensure that these are fully taken into account by NHS bosses and ministers."