The leading doctors’ association has backed down in its dispute with the Government over extending GPs’ opening hours.

The British Medical Association said the contract on offer was “less damaging” than an alternative that the Government had threatened to impose.

The changes will be introduced in April and could mean an average-sized practice opening an extra three hours a week, after ministers demanded that more surgeries were to be open in the evenings and at weekends.

The announcement is a victory for Gordon Brown and Alan Johnson, the Health Secretary, after the Prime Minister made reforming GP hours a priority. The battle had threatened to become ugly, with GPs claiming that the public did not want the longer opening hours.

Earlier this week Ben Bradshaw, the Health Minister, said that the current leadership of the BMA “don't really speak for the profession at large”.

The BMA, which represents two thirds of practising doctors in the UK, had previously said that GPs felt “bullied” by the Government, but had not taken a position on the options available.

However, at a meeting of its GPs Committee yesterday, doctors backed a plan that would make money directly available to surgeries to fund extra opening hours.

The alternative, which the Government said it would impose if no agreement was reached, would have allowed primary care trusts to commission GP services from other providers — and take thousands of pounds away from practice budgets.

The BMA says it has opted for the “lesser of two evils”.

Dr Laurence Buckman, chairman of the GPs’ Committee said: “This is neither a climbdown nor a U-turn, but a recognition that between two bad alternatives, one is worse than the other.”

Earlier this week it emerged that the Government was attempting to bypass the BMA in its negotiations. Mr Johnson announced that he would be writing to every GP in England urging them to accept the plans for extended opening hours.

The BMA will still poll GPs in England this month to find out how they feel about the contract.

A survey by GP magazine this week found that two thirds of the 350 doctors surveyed would turn down the plan. A quarter of those rejecting the deal said that some form of industrial action was needed, while some called for GPs to threaten to resign from NHS work, or withdraw some services.

The Department of Health has said that more than six million patients were unhappy with their surgery opening hours. A spokeswoman said: “This is a good deal for patients. We are pleased the GPC are now backing our proposals and urging GPs to support them.”

The 2004 contract agreed between doctors and the Government has been the subject of controversy because it resulted in the average GP salary rising above £100,000.

Nine out of 10 GPs also opted out of providing round-the-clock care for their patients in return for an average salary drop of £6,000. Out-of-hours care is now in the hands of primary care trusts.

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