Discrepancies in the availability of open access services: comparison between the Northern and Oxford regions.

General practitioners have long been aware of variations in the range of open access services available to them.This study compares the availability of 22 open access services in the Northern and Oxford regions and examines possible reasons for variations. From data collected from general practitioners and community managers two striking patterns emerge. First, there is a difference between the regions with wider availability in the Oxford region. Secondly, there are differences in the range of services available between health authorities, sometimes neighbouring, within the same region, although this is less marked in Oxford.These discrepancies probably reflect the situation nationally and it would appear questionable whether there is any policy coordination at regional or national level to ensure an equitable distribution of open access services.