Almost half of hospitals declared states of alert last week as they failed to cope with rising patient numbers Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Theresa May has ordered GPs to stay open seven days a week as she blamed doctors who close early for fuelling the A&E crisis.

The prime minister said that surgeries should provide appointments at times convenient for patients rather than themselves.

Cash allocated for longer opening hours will be withheld from doctors unless they can prove that they offer appointments at suitable times and are telling patients about them, Downing Street said last night.

Almost half of hospitals declared states of alert last week as they failed to cope with rising numbers of patients. Senior doctors say that most A&Es are dangerously overcrowded.

The government pins the blame on GP opening hours, saying that a lack of appointments gives many patients no alternative to going…