BUSINESS leaders today called for a thorough overhaul of family doctor services amid claims that the system is leading to millions of lost working days.

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said the cost to the economy of restricted opening times, difficulty in booking appointments and the "limited" number of services on offer in many GP surgeries was more than £1bn a year.

The business group said people should be able to register at more than one surgery so they could visit a doctor close to where they work in a bid to speed up treatment.

Deputy director-general John Cridland said changes were needed to tackle the 175 million days being lost every year because of ill-health.

"We need a GP service that fits around people's lives, offering convenience and flexibility."

Mr Cridland stressed that the CBI was not criticising GPs but believed the system was not working effectively.

The CBI's report, Just What The Patient Ordered, said more over-the-counter advice from pharmacists would help break the link between where people lived and their access to healthcare.

A survey of 1,000 adults by the CBI showed that one in three found it difficult to book an appointment with a doctor at a time convenient to them.

The business group said people could be off work for longer than was necessary because of delays in seeking treatment.

A separate study of 200 doctors by high street chemist Boots suggested that 3.5 million working days were lost every year because of time spent at the doctor's - more than four times as much as is lost to industrial action.

The CBI report calls for a number of changes including:

* Steps to make it easier for patients to switch their GP;

* The ability to register at more than one GP practice;

* More primary care services available over the counter from qualified pharmacists, walk-in centres or other sites such as stores or railway stations;

* New providers being able to enter the market to deliver services in areas with too few doctors.

Mr Cridland added: "Billions of pounds of taxpayers' money is being spent on a GP system which seems unable to respond to patients' needs.

"Official figures show ten million adults in England alone cannot book an appointment with a GP more than 48 hours in advance. It is time there was real and fundamental reform with the needs of the patient coming first."