Doctors working in the NHS in England will be required to work across seven days a week, under new plans tabled by the NHS Commissioning Board.

Hospital consultants and GPs face having their hours reorganised to give patients the same level of service at weekends as they receive during the week, to bring the health service in line with other sectors.

The proposals, included in the board’s first planning guidance for 2013-14,1 will initially focus on improving access to diagnostics and urgent and emergency care but could extend to surgery in the future. General practices will be expected to extend their opening hours to weekends as part of the drive.

The BMA warned that the plans, which may require doctors’ contracts to be rewritten to …