At the Tory Conference this year, Cameron pledged that GP surgeries would open 8am to 8pm seven days a week.

were too few GPs to staff such an expansion and the NHS was too cash-strapped to afford it.

Just for a moment last week I thought Wycombe had proved Cameron right – at least partly. Because, here in Wycombe, according to a headline in the Bucks Free Press, a “GP service now has extended weekend hours” (October 18).

However, what the article doesn’t say is that this new GP weekend service is not part of the NHS; it is part of a private clinic which charges £100 for a half hour appointment with a GP.

And the private clinic does not have access to your NHS medical records so has to start from scratch in getting your medical history. Anything on top, such as X-rays, is extra.

So why on earth was the Bucks Free Press promoting the services of a commercial, private sector company? Presumably other GPs surgeries offer a similar private service, so why is the BFP advertising this one?

As the NHS becomes more and more privatised under this Government, Wycombe Labour Party believes it is critical that we are clear about who is funding healthcare services, who is providing them, who is making a profit and who has a financial interest. Whatever the cause of the misunderstanding, it looks as though the BFP article could have misled a number of BFP readers into thinking the NHS was providing weekend services through this clinic. It isn’t.

And perhaps, after all, Cameron’s pledge is undeliverable. We shall see.

Linda Derrick Health Spokesman Wycombe Labour Party

Editor’s note: The article was based on information provided to the Bucks Free Press that did not mention the weekend service was being operated by a private clinic and did not mention the appointment fee. We produced the article in good faith based on the information provided to us.