GPs in England will be expected to allow patients to request appointments online during working hours as part of a new contract with NHS England agreed yesterday.
The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) said the change will come into effect in October, aimed at freeing up phone lines for people who need them most and making it easier for practices to triage patients based on medical need.
It is part of a broader effort to give doctors more time to concentrate on treating patients, and to end the ‘8am scramble’ in many practices to book appointments.
The requirement within the new contract follows an indication late last year that GP practices would be expected to ensure patients could contact them through electronic communications during core hours.
Patient expectations
Other changes include setting out what patients can expect from their practice in a new charter and encouraging GP teams to identify patients with the greatest need who would benefit most from seeing the same clinician at every appointment.
The reforms will be underpinned by an extra £889 million in funding, bringing the total spend on the GPs contract to £13.2 billion in 2025-26.
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: “Rebuilding the broken NHS starts with GPs. Patients need to be able to easily book an appointment, in the manner they want, with their regular doctor if they choose.”
