ANGRY GPs may be forced to back down over out-of-hours care as they prepare to vote on whether to accept a "shambolic" Government deal, says a leading doctor.

Dr Simon Parkinson, secretary of the Worcestershire Local Medical Committee, says GPs in Worcestershire were prepared to open weekends and evenings anyway but the Government needs to stump up more cash to pay for it.

Worcestershire's 450 GPs, he said, were only prepared to accept the deal on out-hours only because it was less damaging than the settlement the Government would impose if they refused.

Dr Parkinson said to refuse the deal would effectively cost each doctor's surgery the equivalent of £6,000 per year per GP.

The Government is holding the purse strings to around £145m which will pay for the extended hours in doctor's surgeries up and down the country - but it will be only be paid out if doctors extend their hours on the Government's terms.

Senior doctors at the GP committee have backed the plan but ordinary GPs have yet to vote on the changes which are expected to come into force in April.

The results of the vote are scheduled to be announced by the middle of next week.

Dr Parkinson, who will vote to accept the offer, said: "Option A is bad but option B is awful. I'm predicting that GPs will accept option A because it's the least worst option. But they will say they're doing so unwillingly and they're very unhappy with the way the Government has handled it."

But Dr Parkinson maintains that the money used to pay for the extended hours will come out of money that was used to help people with osteoporosis and to reduce heart failure and chronic kidney disease.

Dr Parkinson also criticised the Government for not addressing the hidden costs of extended hours and said some doctors in the county may have to take on extra reception staff to cover the extra shifts.

He added: "The whole thing is a bit shambolic. It's an ill-thought-out policy from the Government."

But Mike Foster, Labour MP for Worcester, said the Government was not asking much of GPs.

He added: "I understand the BMA has said doctors may be able to open two extra hours a week. We're asking for three hours per week. We have to see good value for the taxpayer's money."