Most GPs would strike rather than return to out of hours duty as they demand £20,000 pay rise to work weekends Two-thirds of GPs said they would refuse to look after patients in the evening and at weekends Eighty-nine per cent said they wouldn't care for the elderly or terminally ill out-of-hours Survey showed a quarter GPs would take on out-of-hours work if they were paid £20,000 more Two-thirds of GPs would support industrial action - including a strike - if the Government ordered them to work out-of-hours, a survey has found. And a similar proportion say they would refuse to look after patients in the evening and at weekends even if they were offered a hefty pay rise. One doctor said it was an "over my dead body issue" while another threatened to charge patients £50 for an appointment. In most areas, care at evenings and weekends is provided by private firms. Critics claim they are seemingly more concerned about their profits than patients Ministers are considering making GPs take back responsibility for their patients at evenings and weekends amid growing concerns over the standards of care during this time. Family doctors were allowed to give-up working out-of-hours under a contract negotiated by Labour in 2004 in return for a small pay cut. In most areas, care at evenings and weekends is provided by private firms, whom critics claim are seemingly more concerned about their profits than patients. There is concern that deteriorating standards of out-of-hours cover is partly to blame for the ongoing crisis on accident and emergency wards. The Mail has repeatedly highlighted concerns about the state of out-of-hours care and we recently revealed how the largest firm, Harmoni, was using nurses, who are cheaper, to cover doctors" shifts. Last month Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced that the GP contract would be rewritten to ensure they are responsible for patients out-of-hours. Ministers are considering making GPs take back responsibility for their patients at evenings and weekends amid growing concerns over the standards of out-of-hours care The exact details will be thrashed out over the coming months but it is unlikely that doctors will have to be on-call personally at evenings and weekends. Instead, it is more probable they will be made to be directly responsible for the firms providing care out-of-hours and take the blame if anything goes wrong. But a survey of 400 GPs by Pulse magazine found that 69 per cent would not take back responsibility "at any price." A quarter said they would do it if given £20,000 pay-rise - their average annual salaries are now £104,100. And 62 per cent said they would support some form of industrial action if Mr Hunt made them take back responsibility for out-of-hours care. Eighty-nine per cent said they would refuse to be responsible out-of-hours for the most vulnerable patients including the elderly or terminally ill Forty-nine per cent said they would not take back responsibility even if they did not have to be on-call themselves. Eighty-nine per cent said they would refuse to be responsible out-of-hours for the most vulnerable 5 per cent of their patients - including the elderly or terminally ill. The Royal College of General Practitioners recently suggested family doctors should consider looking after such patients. One GP, Dr Mary Church, from Blantyre, south Lanarkshire, said: "This is an over my dead body issue." Another anonymous doctor said: "The only option is resignation - we will still see patients but for a fee, say £50 for 15 minutes. Those that don't want to pay can go to see those wonderful A&E doctors. Dr Thomas Bloch, who practises in Broadway, Worcestershire, said: "This would be a recipe for disaster. We would get the blame for any shortcomings. This is the only reason the Government wants to be shot of it. Although GPs" pay was cut under the 2004 contract if they opted-out of evening and weekend work, most saw their pay increase by an average of 50 per cent because of a new bonus scheme that enabled them to earn cash for treating certain illnesses. Joyce Robins, of campaign group Patient Concern, said: "It's a disgrace the way GPs work at the moment. 'There is some form of out-of-hours care but it's usually by doctors you don't know, including many from abroad, and they get it wrong. GPs should be made to at least take it in turns to do the occasional out of hours shift. Dr Richard Vautrey, of the British Medical Association, which represents GPs, said: "If the Government is mad enough to go down that road, industrial action would be the least of their worries. GPs would vote with their feet and leave the profession and then you'd have a crisis in in-hours care as well. A separate survey by the Royal College of General Practitioners found that half of family doctors felt so overworked they were unable to guarantee safe patient care. Many are worried about making mistakes or missing crucial symptoms because they are exhausted.