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 reduce GP waiting times in Barking constituency.

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. This aims to increase the availability of appointment types, such as face-to-face, in England, including in Barking and Dagenham.

We expect that patients who need an appointment with their GP practice within two weeks should get one and that patients with urgent needs should be seen on the same day. NHS England’s guidance states that GP practices must provide face to face appointments and remote consultations and should respect preferences for face-to-face care unless there are good clinical reasons to the contrary.  While remote consultations can provide additional choice, flexibility and convenience for patients, this is not suitable for all patients or in all circumstances.

In the 12 months to August 2022, 59.1% of general practice appointments were conducted face-to-face in the North East London Integrated Care System area, excluding COVID-19 vaccinations.