Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate her Department has made of the proportion of GP appointments conducted face-to-face in Ellesmere Port and Neston constituency in (a) the last 12 months and (b) 2013.

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 Ellesmere Port and Neston.

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.

The information requested on general practice appointments data is not collected in the format requested. However, in the 12 months to August 2022, 60.2% of the appointments in the Cheshire and Merseyside area were conducted face-to-face, excluding COVID-19 vaccinations.