By . James Chapman . PUBLISHED: . 17:27 EST, 24 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 18:01 EST, 24 April 2013 . Jeremy Hunt is due to reveal how numbers at A&E departments have shot up by four million a year since the last government agreed a controversial GPs' contract . Labour’s ‘disastrous’  decision to allow family  doctors to give up responsibility for out-of-hours care has forced A&E departments to deal with millions more patients, the Health Secretary will warn today. Jeremy Hunt will reveal how numbers have shot up by four million a year since the last government agreed a controversial GPs’ contract – which allowed them to shirk their obligations to work in the evenings and at weekends. Mr Hunt and NHS England are now conducting a fundamental review of out-of-hours care, and are expected to report at the end of next month. In a speech in London, he will say the NHS is guilty of a ‘fundamental failure’ to provide decent care for people with long-term conditions, who should be able to access better support round the clock, rather than having to go to hospital. Citing pressure on A&E as the ‘biggest operational challenge facing the NHS’, the Health Secretary will say: ‘When I have been visiting A&Es in recent weeks, hard-working staff talk about the same issues: lack of beds to admit people, poor out-of-hours GP services, inaccessible primary care and a lack of co-ordination across the health system. ‘The decline in out-of-hours care follows the last government’s disastrous changes to the GP contract, since when we have seen four million more people using A&E every year. ‘We must address these system failures, and I am determined we will.’ Labour allowed GPs to opt out of responsibility for patients outside office hours and at weekends as part of a botched contract which came into force in 2004. Since then, private companies have taken over and in many cases have been forced to employ foreign doctors, often with little grasp of English. The Daily Mail has repeatedly highlighted the deterioration in the service since the contract was changed. A Harris poll for this newspaper showed that 60 per cent of people believe out-of-hours care has got worse. The number of attendances at A&E has increased from 17.8 million before the new GPs’ contract to 21.7 million last year. Official reports claim lives may have been put at risk since responsibility for out-of-hours care was transferred from GPs to primary care trusts (file picture shows hospital accident and emergency entrance) Official reports claim lives may have been put at risk since responsibility for out-of-hours care was transferred from GPs to primary care trusts. Tragedies included retired engineer David Gray, 70, who died after being given ten times the normal dose of diamorphine by German locum Dr Daniel Ubani. He had snatched just a few hours of sleep after flying in to work for a private out-of-hours firm. Errors by German surgeon Werner Kolb cost the life of Ena Dickinson, 94, who lost massive amounts of blood during what was meant to be a routine hip operation at Grantham Hospital, Lincolnshire. He had been working in the NHS for three weeks. David Cameron (left) and Ed Miliband (right) have clashed over the pressure on A&E departments, with the Labour leader saying the new 111 advice line was in crisis . In the Commons, David Cameron and Labour leader Ed Miliband yesterday clashed over the pressure on A&E departments. Mr Miliband said the new 111 advice line – set up to replace NHS Direct – was in crisis, with the number of people waiting longer than four hours in emergency departments having risen from 340,000 in 2009-10 to 888,000 last year. But Mr Cameron said waiting times were either ‘stable or down’ since the last election, and that ministers had ‘virtually abolished’ mixed-sex wards and dramatically reduced superbug infections.
Jeremy Hunt and NHS England conducting review of out-of-hours care .
Is due to say NHS is guilty of failing people with long-term conditions .
Is to blame decline in out-of-hours care on previous government .
By . James Chapman . PUBLISHED: . 17:27 EST, 24 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 18:01 EST, 24 April 2013 . Jeremy Hunt is due to reveal how numbers at A&E departments have shot up by four million a year since the last government agreed a controversial GPs' contract . Labour’s ‘disastrous’  decision to allow family  doctors to give up responsibility for out-of-hours care has forced A&E departments to deal with millions more patients, the Health Secretary will warn today. Jeremy Hunt will reveal how numbers have shot up by four million a year since the last government agreed a controversial GPs’ contract – which allowed them to shirk their obligations to work in the evenings and at weekends. Mr Hunt and NHS England are now conducting a fundamental review of out-of-hours care, and are expected to report at the end of next month. In a speech in London, he will say the NHS is guilty of a ‘fundamental failure’ to provide decent care for people with long-term conditions, who should be able to access better support round the clock, rather than having to go to hospital. Citing pressure on A&E as the ‘biggest operational challenge facing the NHS’, the Health Secretary will say: ‘When I have been visiting A&Es in recent weeks, hard-working staff talk about the same issues: lack of beds to admit people, poor out-of-hours GP services, inaccessible primary care and a lack of co-ordination across the health system. ‘The decline in out-of-hours care follows the last government’s disastrous changes to the GP contract, since when we have seen four million more people using A&E every year. ‘We must address these system failures, and I am determined we will.’ Labour allowed GPs to opt out of responsibility for patients outside office hours and at weekends as part of a botched contract which came into force in 2004. Since then, private companies have taken over and in many cases have been forced to employ foreign doctors, often with little grasp of English. The Daily Mail has repeatedly highlighted the deterioration in the service since the contract was changed. A Harris poll for this newspaper showed that 60 per cent of people believe out-of-hours care has got worse. The number of attendances at A&E has increased from 17.8 million before the new GPs’ contract to 21.7 million last year. Official reports claim lives may have been put at risk since responsibility for out-of-hours care was transferred from GPs to primary care trusts (file picture shows hospital accident and emergency entrance) Official reports claim lives may have been put at risk since responsibility for out-of-hours care was transferred from GPs to primary care trusts. Tragedies included retired engineer David Gray, 70, who died after being given ten times the normal dose of diamorphine by German locum Dr Daniel Ubani. He had snatched just a few hours of sleep after flying in to work for a private out-of-hours firm. Errors by German surgeon Werner Kolb cost the life of Ena Dickinson, 94, who lost massive amounts of blood during what was meant to be a routine hip operation at Grantham Hospital, Lincolnshire. He had been working in the NHS for three weeks. David Cameron (left) and Ed Miliband (right) have clashed over the pressure on A&E departments, with the Labour leader saying the new 111 advice line was in crisis . In the Commons, David Cameron and Labour leader Ed Miliband yesterday clashed over the pressure on A&E departments. Mr Miliband said the new 111 advice line – set up to replace NHS Direct – was in crisis, with the number of people waiting longer than four hours in emergency departments having risen from 340,000 in 2009-10 to 888,000 last year. But Mr Cameron said waiting times were either ‘stable or down’ since the last election, and that ministers had ‘virtually abolished’ mixed-sex wards and dramatically reduced superbug infections.
2013 . Jeremy Hunt is due to reveal how numbers NHS England are now conducting a fundamental review of out-of-hours care, and are expected to London, he will say the NHS is guilty of a people with long-term conditions, who should be health system. ‘The decline in out-of-hours care