GPs see 12% of patients in person in worst areas

JUST one in eight GP appointments is carried out face-to-face at the country’s worst-performing surgeries, NHS data shows.

Figures at practice level were published for the first time yesterday.

They revealed exactly how long patients wait for appointments – as well as how they are conducted.

Nationally, 71 per cent of consultations are now held in person, rather than remotely – the highest proportion since 2019, before the pandemic hit.

But the figure is as low as 12 per cent at some practices across London.

Ministers said the data would help patients make informed choices about which surgery they choose to visit.

However, the British Medical Association (BMA) slammed the inaugural publication of the figures as “no more than a way to name and shame practices”.

Meanwhile, family doctors have voted to cut their core opening hours back to 9am to 5pm.

They described longer days as “a relic of history”. A motion put forward at a conference of GP leaders claimed the current contracted hours of 8am to 6.30pm “discriminate against GPs who wish to have families”.

It argued that women were worst affected “due to the still-patriarchal nature of English society”.

Gateshead and Tyneside Local Medical Committee (LMC), a statutory body representing local GPs, submitted the motion at the England LMCs annual conference.

It called for hours to be slashed in the next GP contract, with practices only starting earlier or finishing later to meet local need on some occasions.

The motion was passed, with 147 GP representatives voting in favour and 84 against, while 10 abstained.

A new contract will be introduced for GPs in England in April 2024.

The vote means the BMA General Practitioners Committee will now argue for a reduction in core hours.