Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that GP practices are increasing the availability of face to face appointments with patients.
The National Health Service has been clear that general practitioner (GP) practices must provide face to face appointments, alongside remote consultations. Patients’ input into consultation type should be sought and practices should respect preferences for face to face care unless there are good clinical reasons to the contrary, such as the presence of COVID-19 symptoms.
In October 2021, we published ‘Our plan for improving access for patients and supporting general practice’. This included an additional investment of £250 million in a Winter Access Fund to increase the number of face to face appointments, while also investing in technology to make it easier for patients to see or speak to their GP.