Digital triage system ‘making it easier to contact GPs’

Replacing GP receptionists with a “digital triage” system has made it easier for patients to see their family doctors, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The NHS said that 99% of GP surgeries in England had now adopted an e-consultation system, meaning patients fill out an online form as their first point of contact.

After detailing symptoms, they receive a call or message back that day, offering a face-to-face appointment, a phone consultation, or directing patients elsewhere, such as to a pharmacy.

It means people are spared the hassle of having to call up their GP reception in an “8am scramble” for appointments, and NHS leaders reported that access had improved over the past year. New ONS figures show that 72% of people said it was easy or very easy to contact their GP, up from 60 per cent in July 2024.

However, access to GP appointments is still significantly below pre-pandemic levels, with surgeries struggling to cope with increased demand. There were 29.3 million GP appointments in April 2025 — a rise of almost five million on the same period pre-pandemic.

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Source: The Times, 2 June 2025