A doctor's surgery has defended other GPs who do not offer evening or weekend appointments.

Dr Charles Alessi, of Churchill Medical Centre, Kingston, said GP surgeries were not to blame after an Evening Standard survey showed Kingston was the worst in London for opening hours outside 9am to 5pm and on weekends.

Only one surgery, Churchill Medical Centre in Clifton Road, opens late and on weekends but Dr Alessi maintained there may be good reasons why other practices do not offer extended hours.

He said: "What was right for us might not be right for others. Some don't have the infrastructure or the size or depth.

"We have 15,000 patients but those with only 2,000 might find it a lot harder."

Dr Alessi said he had received no support from Kingston Primary Care Trust, another reason other practices might find it tough to extend hours.

Dr Alessi's comments followed the results of a poll of GPs undertaken by the British Medical Association (BMA).

The results showed 97 per cent had no confidence in the Government's handling of the NHS.

And there was more anger over negotiations of a new contract for GPs for 2008/9, which led to 98 out of every 100 GPs saying they believed the Government's method of negotiation was unacceptable.

Commenting on the poll results, Dr Laurence Buckman, chairman of the BMA's GP Committee, said: "This poll shows the Government has a long way to go if it wants to repair the damage its past behaviour has caused.

"Let me emphasise that a majority of GPs were willing, and remain willing, to provide extended hours surgeries. However, GPs believe they are being railroaded into an unrealistic vision of extended hours."

But Dr Alessi said more practices in Kingston would adopt extended hours.

He said: "It's in their interest to do it because they need to satisfy the requirements of their patients.

"We hope there will be more opening later but they need to overcome these difficulties."