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GPs told to guarantee same-day appointments for urgent cases

GPs in England will have to guarantee same-day appointments for any patient with urgent health needs, under a new clause being added to their contract.

The government said the changes would ensure everyone who needs to be seen quickly would be.

Spending on GP services will increase by nearly £500 million - a 3.6% boost in cash terms - to help pay for the commitment, which the government said will be used to help recruit more doctors.

But the British Medical Association said the government was at risk of creating unrealistic expectations given how stretched GP services already were.

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Source: BBC News, 24 February 2026.

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GPs to vote on industrial action over ‘name and shame’ reforms

GPs are set to be balloted on industrial action over controversial reforms proposed by health secretary Sajid Javid.

The “outraged” doctors in England have voted unanimously to reject the government’s plans at a British Medical Association (BMA) meeting.

The government wants to see GP surgeries ranked in league tables to “name and shame” those that do not carry out enough face-to-face appointments with their patients.

From early November, GPs will have to have their names and wages published if they earn an NHS salary of more than £150,000.

The BMA says that forcing GPs to publish their earnings “provides no benefit to patients or their care, yet will potentially increase acts of aggression towards GPs, will damage morale amongst the profession, and only worsen practices’ ability to recruit and retain GPs”.

GP surgeries will not be eligible for new funding if they fail to provide an “appropriate” number of in-person consultations. Patients will also be asked to rate their GPs via text message.

Mr Javid has insisted that his plans would improve patients’ access to primary care – but the union representing the GPs says it has been “left with no alternative” but to ballot over whether to take industrial action.

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Source: The Independent, 22 October 2021

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GPs to prescribe walking and cycling in bid to ease burden on NHS

GPs around England are to prescribe patients activities such as walking or cycling in a bid to ease the burden on the NHS by improving mental and physical health.

The £12.7m trial, which was announced by the Department for Transport and will begin this year, is part of a wider movement of “social prescribing”, an approach already used in the NHS, in which patients are referred for non-medical activities.

Minister for health, Maria Caulfield, said the UK is leading the way in embedding social prescribing in the NHS and communities across the country.

“Getting active is hugely beneficial for both our mental and physical health, helping reduce stress and ward off other illness such as heart disease and obesity,” she said.

Paul Farmer, chief executive of the mental health charity Mind, said he welcomed news of the extra investment, enabling the NHS to try new ways of supporting mental health, such as through social prescribing schemes.

But, he added, prescribing exercise is not a miracle cure for treating mental health problems.

“What we urgently need to see is proper investment into our country’s mental health services,” he said. “Only that will enable us to deliver support to the 1.6 million people currently sat on waiting lists, and the 8 million people who would benefit from mental health support right now but are deemed by the system not to be unwell enough to access it.”

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Source: The Guardian, 22 August 2022

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GPs to offer more mental health support for mothers in England after giving birth

Mothers in England will be asked in detail if pregnancy or giving birth has affected their mental health as a result of new NHS guidance to GPs.

The move is part of a drive by NHS England to improve support for women suffering postnatal depression or other mental health problems linked to their pregnancy or childbirth.

Under the new guidance GPs will ask women more questions than before about how they are feeling when they attend their postnatal health check six to eight weeks after giving birth.

Family doctors will look for any sign that the woman may have a condition such as postnatal PTSD as a result of experiencing a traumatic birth or psychosis induced by bearing a child.

Anyone who the GP feels needs help with their mental wellbeing will be referred to specialist maternal mental health services, which have been expanded in recent years.

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Source: The Guardian, 18 December 2023

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GPs to give patients with learning disability and autism ‘priority appointments’

NHS England will ask GP practices to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ for patients with a learning disability or autism such as giving them ‘priority appointments’.

They could also be asked to provide ‘easy-read appointment letters’ to the group, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said yesterday in a new strategy on strengthening support for autistic people and those with a learning disability.

It said the measures aim to support Government plans to reduce reliance on mental health inpatient care, with a target to reduce the number of those with a learning disability or autism in specialist inpatient care by 50% by March 2024 compared with March 2015.

The policy paper said: ‘We know that people experience challenges accessing reasonably adjusted support which may prevent them from having their needs met.’

It added: ‘To make it easier for people with a learning disability and autistic people to use health services, there is work underway in NHS England to make sure that staff in health settings know if they need to make reasonable adjustments for people."

NHS England is also developing a ‘reasonable adjustments digital flag’ that will signal that a patient may need reasonable adjustments on their health record, it said.

It plans to make this flag, which is currently being tested, available across all NHS services, it added.

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Source: Pulse 15 July 2022

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GPs to follow new digital standard for sending medicines and allergy information

A new information standard has been developed for sharing digital information on medication and allergies across different parts of health and social care services.

The standard, which aims to reduce medicines errors comes into effect this month. NHS and social care organisations will have to show compliance by March 2023.

GP practices, hospitals, mental health trusts, pharmacists, community teams and residential care homes will all have to meet the standard when transferring medication and prescription information between teams.

The standard will be particularly helpful in reducing medication errors when patients transfer between care locations NHS Digital said.

Having specific requirements in place for how medicine and allergy information is transferred will also provide clinicians with a more detailed and consistent source of medicines related information across all care settings and allow them to obtain medicines information more quickly and efficiently, they added in a document outlining the changes. 

The standard defines how the send and receive messages involving medicines information are constructed, and how the data within is structured so that it is machine-readable when sent between different IT systems.

Dr Simon Eccles, deputy CEO of NHSX and national chief clinical information officer said:

‘This new standard will make medicine prescribing safer for patients and easier for clinicians, reducing errors in prescription and improving the monitoring of medications that can cause harm.

‘This is the result of a true collaborative effort between NHSX, NHS Digital, industry and the frontline that will make a real difference to the care and support local clinicians can provide to their patients."

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Source: Pulse, 28 October 2021

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GPs to fall under remit of new patient safety watchdog from 2023

GP practices will be included in the remit of a new patient safety watchdog, due to come in from 2023 under the new Health and Care Bill, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has said. DHSC said that it expects the new Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) to be ‘fully operational’ in England from April 2023 – ‘subject to parliamentary clearances’. 

It confirmed that the statutory independent body will investigate NHS care in GP practices, although it said that the HSSIB’s ‘focus is likely to be predominantly on investigating patient safety incidents in NHS trusts’. The body will also investigate care provided by the independent healthcare sector.

RCGP vice-chair Dr Gary Howsam said: ‘It is important that we have further details about how this regulator will interact with general practice, and the expectations it will have of GPs and our teams, including ensuring GPs are not implicated for systemic issues out of their control.’

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GPs to face six-month complaint response targets under ombudsman proposals

GP practices are set to face new targets for responding to patient complaints under standards being piloted by the health ombudsman.

All ‘straightforward’ complaints should be dealt with within six months and 95% within three, while 80% of ‘complex’ complaints should be completed within six months and half within three, under the proposals.

The new Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) complaint standards are currently being piloted in every sector of the NHS – including one GP practice – and were due to be implemented across the NHS this year. 

However, a PHSO spokesperson told Pulse that due to delays caused by the pandemic, the full rollout is now planned for the beginning of next year, with the ombudsman to implement the standards from April 2023.

The proposed complaints standards said staff should ensure they ‘consistently meet expected timescales for acknowledging a complaint’ and ‘respond to complaints at the earliest opportunity’, providing ‘regular updates throughout’.

They should also give ‘clear timeframes’ for how long investigating the complaint will take and ‘agree timescales with everyone involved’, including the complainant.

An accompanying draft model complaint handling procedure said that complaints will be acknowledged within three working days either verbally or in writing.

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Source: Pulse, 24 March 2022

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GPs to be paid to seek consultant opinion before referring

New payments for GPs to incentivise a significant reduction in referrals are among a range of measures being announced by the prime minister in a “radical” new plan to slash the elective waiting list.

As well as a major expansion of “advice and guidance”, which involves GPs discussing cases with specialist consultants to try to avoid a referral, the government has claimed new “elective reform plan” will include ramping up activity in community diagnostic centres and “elective hubs”, and ensuring more patients are offered a choice of provider.

However, many of the details of how these changes will be achieved have yet to be revealed. Most of the planned improvements also involve initiatives which have been under way for some time, or have been previously announced. The full plan is not set to be released until Monday afternoon.

Trusts will be ordered to put “non-clinical frontline staff like receptionists on compulsory ‘customer service’ training [to ensure the NHS delivers] a new gold standard retail offer”, the Department for Health and Social Care said on Saturday.

There will also be extensive upgrades to the NHS app, including direct booking of diagnostics, to improve access, choice, and the options available while waiting.

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Source: HSJ, 5 January 2025

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GPs think older patients cannot handle health apps on phones

Over-55s are not being recommended useful health technology as GPs presume they cannot use a smartphone, say researchers

Older patients are being excluded from beneficial health technology because “ageist” doctors presume they cannot work a smartphone, research has suggested.
Experts have accused doctors of “stereotyping” older people as being incapable of using technology and warned patient safety was being put at risk by a failure to support them in using appropriate online health tools.
 
GPs typically recommend NHS-approved health apps to about one in 10 patients aged under 35 to help them manage their conditions between appointments, such as by reminding them to take medications or monitoring their symptoms. However, doctors recommend the same apps to just one in 25 patients over 55 and one in 50 patients over 65, according to research by the Organisation for the Review of Care and Health Apps (ORCHA), which assesses apps for the health service.
The same research found 55 per cent of over-55s would be happy to try using a health app if it was recommended, while nine in 10 over-55s and eight in 10 over-65s who have used a health app felt satisfied or very satisfied with the experience.
 
The NHS Long Term Plan states that patients should have access to “digital tools” to manage their health and studies have shown NHS-approved health apps can have clinical benefits.

Older people ‘will benefit from digital products’

However, Helen Hughes, the chief executive of the charity Patient Safety Learning, suggested ageist assumptions about older people’s technological ability meant they were missing out.
 
“The data suggests that older people maybe being stereotyped, with assumptions they won’t be computer literate,” she said. “Plenty of older people are tech savvy – or at least willing to learn – and will really benefit from being able to manage their health from home, using digital products. Older patients need to be offered technology solutions with support on how best to use them, if this is needed.”
 
She warned there was also “a significant patient safety issue” with the failure to advise patients about NHS-approved apps, as it left older patients at risk of inadvertently downloading one of the thousands of unreliable health apps available.

To read the full article (paywalled), click here
Original Source: The Telegraph

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GPs tell patients to buy their own oxygen as NHS supplies run low

GPs are advising patients with respiratory diseases to buy oxygen privately amid shortages of the gas across the NHS.

Last week hospitals were warned to urgently consider limiting how many patients were given oxygen simultaneously.

Hospitals usually have a pipeline to pump liquid oxygen from a central store to the wards, but most do not have the capacity to meet the demand from the number of patients they are treating with COVID-19.

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Source: The Times, 12 April 2020

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GPs tell patients to ‘get an Uber’ as NHS ambulance delays hit record level

Some of the country’s GP are advising patients requiring urgent hospital care to “get an Uber” or use a relative’s car because of the worst ever delays in the ambulance service in England.

Patients with breathing difficulties and other potentially serious conditions are being told in some cases that they are likely to be transferred more quickly from a general practice to accident and emergency if they travel by cab or private vehicle.

NHS England data shows that October’s average ambulance response times for category 1 to 3 emergencies, which cover all urgent conditions, appear to be the highest since the categories were introduced nationally in 2017. Some patients who require emergency treatment may have to wait several hours for an ambulance to arrive.

Dr Selvaseelan Selvarajah, a GP partner in east London, said: “If somebody is not having a heart attack or a stroke, my default advice is ‘have you got someone who can drive you or do you want to get an Uber?’

“These are patients who may have breathing difficulty or are suffering severe abdominal pain, but their life is not in immediate danger.” He said such patients would have previously been transferred by ambulance.

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Source: The Guardian, 27 November 2022

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GPs strike deal to help end '8am scramble' for appointments

Patients will be able to book more appointments online and request to see their usual doctor under a new contract agreed with England's GPs, the government has said.

The deal gives an extra £889m a year to general practices, as well as a reduction in red tape and targets that ministers hope will mean doctors are freed up to see more patients.

The Labour government made manifesto promises to bring back "family" doctors and end the early morning phone "scramble" for appointments.

The doctors' union, the BMA, says the deal is an important first step in restoring general practices.

However, doctors also want the government to commit to talks about a completely new national contract for GPs within this Parliament.

GP surgeries are seen as the front door to the NHS, but for years now, doctors have been warning about the pressure their service is under.

Patients have felt it too, with some people facing long waits for appointments.

Now it is hoped extra money agreed in the new contract for GP surgeries will kick-start improvements.

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Source: BBC News, 28 February 2025

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GPs stricken by long Covid ‘shocked and betrayed’ at being forced from jobs

Family doctors are being forced out of their jobs after developing long Covid, prompting demands for the government to compensate NHS staff with the debilitating condition who cannot work.

GPs struggling with the condition have told the Observer they felt “shocked and betrayed” when their colleagues removed them from their posts because of prolonged sick leave.

“I received a lawyer’s letter on behalf of the other partners in the GP surgery telling me that they were ending my partnership. I understood why they did what they did, because I was too sick to work at the time. But it was also callous and mercenary,” said one doctor who lost her job.

“It was hard on me, as one of the partners was also my best friend. The partners were worried I’d be a ‘disabled partner’ and wouldn’t be able to pull my weight. Long Covid meant I simply couldn’t function normally and so couldn’t meet the return to work date they gave me, so they exercised their right under our partnership agreement to end my partnership at the surgery,” added the GP, who asked to remain anonymous.

The issue has prompted soul-searching within the medical profession about what duty of care family doctors owe each other when they cannot work because they have been laid low with exhaustion, brain fog, breathlessness and other symptoms of long Covid.

Locum medics and hospital doctors with the condition are also having problems including loss of income, trouble accessing sick pay, contractual difficulties and getting employers to accept that they cannot work normally, sometimes for months.

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Source: The Guardian, 23 May 2021

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GPs split over assisted dying plans, BBC research suggests

Family doctors in England are deeply divided on the issue of assisted dying, BBC research on plans to legalise the practice suggests.

The findings give a unique insight into how strongly many GPs feel about the proposed new law - and highlight how personal beliefs and experiences are shaping doctors' views on the issue.

BBC News sent more than 5,000 GPs a questionnaire asking whether they agreed with changing the law to allow assisted dying for certain terminally ill people in England and Wales.

More than 1,000 GPs replied, with about 500 telling us they were against an assisted dying law and about 400 saying they were in favour.

Some of the 500 GPs who told us they were against the law change called the bill "appalling", "highly dangerous", and "cruel". "We are doctors, not murderers," one said.

Of the 400 who said they supported assisted dying, some described the bill as "long overdue" and "a basic human right".

It comes as MPs will this week again debate proposed changes to the controversial bill, with a vote in parliament expected on whether to pass or block it next month.

If assisted dying does become legal in England and Wales, it would be a historic change for society.

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Source: BBC News, 14 May 2025

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GPs should regularly review self-harm patients, says draft NICE guidance

GPs should regularly review self-harm patients and offer a specific CBT intervention, according to a consultation on the first new guidance for self-harm to be drawn up in 11 years.

The new draft guidance emphasises the importance of referring patients to specialist mental health services, but stresses that, for patients who are treated in primary care, continuity is crucial.

If someone who has self-harmed is being treated in primary care, GPs must ensure regular follow-up appointments and reviews of self-harm behaviour, as well as a medicines review, the draft guideline say.

They must also provide care for coexisting mental health issues, including referral to mental health services where appropriate, as well as information, social care, voluntary and non-NHS sector support and self-help resources.

The guidance says that referring people to mental health services would ‘ensure people are in the most appropriate setting’.

However, the committee agreed that ‘if people are being cared for in primary care following an episode of self-harm, there should be continuity of care and regular reviews of factors relating to their self-harm to ensure that the person who has self-harmed feels supported and engaged with services’.

The draft guidance, out for consultation until 1 March, also says ambulance staff should suggest self-harming patients see their GP to maximise the chance of engagement with services.

It says: ‘When attending a person who has self-harmed but who does not need urgent physical care, ambulance staff and paramedics should discuss with the person (and any relevant services) if it is possible for the person to be assessed or treated by an appropriate alternative service, such as a specialist mental health service or their GP.’

It notes that ‘ambulance staff often felt that the emergency department was not the preferred place that the person who had self-harmed wanted to be taken. They agreed that referral to alternative services could facilitate the person’s engagement with services’.

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Source: Pulse, 18 January 2022

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GPs should not switch off online consultations, NHSE says

GP practices should not switch off their online consultation systems outside of core hours as it will “reduce patient satisfaction”, according to NHS England.

It comes in controversial new guidance issued amid a row over GP access. NHSE issued the new “standard operating procedures” this afternoon.

HSJ revealed last month that large numbers of overwhelmed GP practices were turning off their online consultation services at weekends after the recent boom in digital appointments uncovered an ‘unmet demand’, leading to large numbers of queries to deal. 

But the new SOP says: “Patients should be able to make requests in an online system at any time.”

Disabling the system outside of core hours, which some practices have done to help manage demand, is “less convenient” for patients and would “reduce satisfaction”, it says.

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Source: HSJ, 20 May 2021

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GPs should lose ‘sole patient data controller’ role, says NHSE chief

The government should ‘relieve’ GP practices of being the sole controller for their patients’ data, a senior NHS England director has said. 

Tim Ferris, NHSE director of transformation, said it was a “challenge” that GP practices acted as the sole controllers of their patients’ data. 

Dr Ferris, whose background is as a primary care doctor in the US, was giving evidence to a Lords committee on integration of primary and community care today. He was asked whether it was time to revisit legislation on the control of GP patient data.

He said: “Thirty years ago when the law was created, it made more sense. But I think it might no longer be fit for purpose… The idea that if I were a GP in this country, if I had legal liability for the exchange of data, I would be worried about that.”

Dr Ferris agreed there would be merit to the committee recommending the government “relieve” GPs of the sole responsibility for data protection, and their data controller status.

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Source: HSJ, 20 June 2023

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GPs seeing 'unsafe number of patients per day'

Some GPs are carrying out an "unsustainable" number of consultations, seeing up to 70 patients in a single day, it has been claimed.

This is more than double the number deemed "safe" by the European Union of General Practitioners, which sets a maximum level of 25 patients per day.

The Consortium of Lancashire and Cumbria Local Medical Committees (LMCs) revealed the figure at the end of a week in which GPs nationwide began an indefinite work-to-rule over funding for their practices.

Ms Tomlinson, chief operating officer of Consortium of LMCs, said prior to the work-to-rule beginning some Lancashire GPs were seeing more than double the safe number of patients in a shift.

"The demand is huge now – we’re hearing of GPs seeing 60 to 70 patients a day, which is not sustainable at all.

She said limiting the number to 25 would mean patients get "better, safer clinical time with a GP".

She said it would not deprive patients of the care they need and advised people "not to worry about phoning" their surgery if they were unwell.

"GPs are still wanting to see you. If [those choosing to cap daily patient numbers] reach that level, you will be diverted to out-of-hours [services], urgent treatment centres or 111 – so you will still be seen in a healthcare setting."

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Source: BBC News, 6 August 2024

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GPs say shortage of doctors puts safe care at risk

GPs in England are finding it "increasingly hard to guarantee safe care" as the number of doctors falls and demand surges, a senior medic said.

Prof Martin Marshall, chair of the Royal College of GPs, told the Guardian GP numbers had fallen by 4.5% despite an ageing population with an increased need for care. GPs feared making serious mistakes due to excessive workloads, he said.

Prof Marshall also defended the continued use of remote consultations.

Prof Marshall said the demand for services from GPs, including more complex consultations and the vaccination programme, on top of this decline in numbers was putting family doctors under strain.

"The fact that general practice is under such enormous pressure means it can't deliver the patient-centred services that it wants to. Many GPs are even finding it challenging to maintain a safe service," he said.

He said family doctors were more likely to make a mistake if they were working 11- or 12-hour days, seeing 50 or 60 patients.

"GPs are finding it increasingly hard to guarantee safe care to their patients," he said. "The chances of making a mistake in a diagnosis or a mistake in a referral decision or a mistake in prescribing are all greater when you're under stress."

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Source: BBC News, 11 September 2021

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GPs say rule change makes covid vaccine programme ‘unfeasibly challenging’

Coronavirus vaccinations at GP practices will now take ‘twice as long’ after regulators announced new rules just days before the jabs are rolled out across primary care.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency announced patients would have to be observed for 15 minutes after they received the vaccine. This came after two people had severe allergic reactions to the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

Primary care directors told HSJ the change means they have had to overhaul plans in their primary care networks and, in some areas, the vaccine programme will be “unfeasibly challenging” to deliver.

Sources told HSJ workforce plans are being overhauled, while vaccines risk being wasted because of the additional time constraints. There have been claims some practices may drop the vaccination programme altogether, as they lack capacity to carry out 15-minute observations for each patient.

One primary care director, who spoke to HSJ anonymously, said: “For us, we now need additional space for an observation area. It also makes it more difficult to efficiently flow through the vaccines as the actual vaccination process might take a few minutes, but the through flow of patients will be limited by the 15-minute wait.”

They added: “The vaccine now taking at least twice as long to do creates logistical problems. Not insurmountable but there nonetheless."

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Source: HSJ, 11 December 2020

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GPs say parents need clearer strep A advice

GP leaders have urged the government to put out clearer advice for parents about when to seek help over potential strep A infections.

Prof Kamila Hawthorne, of the Royal College of GPs, said many surgeries were struggling with the extra demand on top of existing pressures.

The government should consider "overspill" services for surgeries unable to cope, she said.

Since September, 15 UK children have died after invasive strep A infections.

This includes the death of one child in Wales, and one in Northern Ireland. There have been no deaths confirmed in Scotland.

The UK Health Security Agency figures (UKHSA) show there have also been 47 deaths from strep A in adults in England.

Most strep A infections are mild, but more severe invasive cases - while still rare - are rising.

Prof Hawthorne, said: "We do not want to discourage patients who are worried about their children to seek medical attention, particularly given the current circumstances.

"But we do want to see good public health messaging across the UK, making it clear to parents when they should seek help and the different care options available to them - as well as when they don't need to seek medical attention."

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Source: BBC News, 8 December 2022

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GPs refused to give prostate cancer tests to one in four black men in UK, survey finds

One in four black men in the UK have been refused a prostate cancer test by their GP despite having twice the risk of developing the disease than the overall adult male population, a report has found.

A PSA test measures the level of the protein prostate-specific antigen in the blood, and may be able to detect prostate cancer in its early stages.

But according to a survey conducted by Prostate Cancer Research of 2,000 black men in the UK, almost a quarter (24%) attempting to get tested in the past year reported being obstructed by a GP.

The survey also found a quarter (25%) believed discrimination prevented them from being tested for prostate cancer, while just under a half (47%) thought they would receive the same level of care from the NHS as their white counterparts.

Oliver Kemp, the chief executive of Prostate Cancer Research, said: “These black and white figures are shocking, and an important call to action. It shouldn’t be the community alone who has to fix this – just as we have seen members of the community come together around our Real Talk campaign, we are calling on government, the NHS, and other partners to come together and work with us to close this health gap.

“It is vital we raise awareness not only among the community, but also among healthcare professionals and policymakers. We are calling on GPs to be mindful of black men’s greater risk when considering PSA testing, and on government to introduce screening for men in high risk groups – our data shows that 82% of black men would be willing to take part in such a programme, if it were rolled out. It is staggering to think of how many lives could be saved.”

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Source: The Guardian, 26 September 2024

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GPs raise alarm as patients flag life-threatening symptoms in non-urgent forms

A new poll found more than two-thirds of GPs are concerned about patient safety

Patients have submitted requests about life-threatening conditions on non-urgent forms following changes to online access in GP surgeries, family doctors have said.

Since October 1, GP surgeries in England have been required to keep their online consultation platform open during working hours for non-urgent appointment requests, medication queries and admin requests. However, family doctors told Pulse magazine they have received reports from patients about difficulty breathing, rectal bleeding and severe vomiting on the forms, which are designed for non-emergencies.

A new poll of 431 GPs and practice managers by Pulse found more than two-thirds (67 per cent) are concerned about patient safety since the change.

Read more here in the Independent.

 

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GPs prefer to see patients face to face, says UK family doctors' leader

Many GPs find telephone appointments with patients frustrating and want to see them in person because they fear they will otherwise miss signs of illness , the leader of Britain’s family doctors has said.

Prof Martin Marshall told the Guardian that remote consultations felt like working “in a call centre” and risked damaging the relationship between GPs and their patients.

Telephone and video appointments had proved useful during the Covid pandemic, when GP surgeries limited patients’ ability to come in for face-to-face appointments, he said. However, while that helped limit the spread of coronavirus, “this way of working has been frustrating for some GPs, particularly when most consultations were being delivered remotely, who have felt like they’ve been delivering care via a call centre, which isn’t the job they signed up for."

“Remote consultations have advantages, particularly in terms of access and convenience for patients. But we know that patients prefer to see their GP face to face."

“Remote working has been challenging for many GPs, particularly when delivering care to patients with complex health needs,” said Marshall, who is a GP in London. “It can also make it harder to pick up on soft cues, which can be helpful for making diagnoses.”

His remarks come as NHS leaders and doctors groups are discussing how far appointments should return to being in person now the pandemic is receding.

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Source: The Guardian, 28 March 2021

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