Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that more people can receive a face-to-face appointment at their GP surgery.

NHS England guidance states that general practitioner (GP) practices must provide face-to-face appointments alongside remote consultations and should respect preferences for face-to-face care unless there are good clinical reasons to the contrary. In August 2022, 66.1% of appointments were conducted face-to-face, excluding COVID-19 vaccinations. This is an increase from 57.5% in August 2021.

Remote consultations can provide additional choice, flexibility and convenience for patients. However, a blended offer of face to face and remote consultations is important because remote access is not suitable for all patients or in all circumstances. On 22 September 2022, we announced ‘Our plan for patients’, which contains measures to assist people make an informed choice on their general practitioner (GP) practice, book an appointment more easily, benefit from more care options and increase the diversity of general practice teams.