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Outdated GPs' services are failing to meet the needs of workers and are placing an unnecessary burden on employers and businesses, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said today.

Its report into medical access states that restricted opening hours and difficulty in booking appointments is contributing to millions of lost working days and worsening health.

If people do not see a doctor in the early stages of a problem health issues may not be tackled, the CBI says, leading to longer periods away from work and greater pressure on the welfare system.

An Ipsos Mori poll released with the CBI report shows that almost one in three adults finds it fairly or very difficult to get an appointment at a time convenient to them.

The CBI is calling for it to be made easier for people to switch GPs and to have access to more flexible, patient-friendly opening hours as well as a larger number of walk-in centres and over-the-counter advice from pharmacists.

It follows comments from both the prime minister Gordon Brown and health secretary Alan Johnson about the need for different opening hours.

Last week Mr Johnson said it was "a bit of an anomaly" that people could not see a GP outside of normal working hours.

CBI director-general John Cridland said the current GP system "seems unable to respond to patients' needs".

"It's time there was real and fundamental reform with the needs of the patient coming first," he added.

"Good employers want employees to look after their health. But they don't want to pay for a health service that isn't flexible enough to cope with the modern world."

The British Medical Association (BMA) has dismissed the CBI's report, suggesting employers are at fault for not proving workers with a proper occupational health service.

Dr Laurence Buckman, chairman of the BMA's GPs committee, said the work of GPs had changed profoundly and said the CBI and its members "should put their own house in order".

"If employees lose time from work to see their doctor it is either because they are ill and need care or because their employer has insisted they get a sick-note even for a temporary illness which has passed," he added.

"This abuse of the sick-note system is a waste of the time of both working people and clinicians. Many employers seem to regard their sick employees' time as their own. It isn't. NHS general practice is there to treat patients and their care is what comes first and last."