Less than half of patients see a GP in person
PEOPLE are just as likely to be given a phone appointment when they call their GP surgery as they are to see a doctor face-to-face.
Just 48 per cent of patients saw a doctor between January and April this year compared with 85 per cent in 2020 while 47 per cent spoke remotely compared with 10 per cent in the previous year.
Those patients who last had an in-person appointment were more likely to say their needs were met (95 per cent) compared with those who spoke on the phone (92 per cent).
Overall, 42 per cent said they had avoided making a GP appointment in the past year, with a fifth of those saying this was because they were worried about the burden on the NHS, 17 per cent because they feared they would catch Covid and 11 per cent because they found it too difficult.
But there has been a one per cent rise in satisfaction to 83 per cent, said the GP patient survey for England of more than 850,000 people.
Beccy Baird, of think-tank The King’s Fund, said: “Over 95 per cent of people trusted the person caring
for them at their last appointment. This is reassuring but these results are not spread evenly, with people living in more deprived areas more likely to report negative experiences.
“Over 40 per cent of people avoided making appointments, in many cases to protect the NHS or because they were worried about catching Covid-19.
“As this pent-up demand starts to come back into the system many GPs, and other parts of the health system, are facing a capacity crunch.
“The Government and NHS leaders need to consider how general practice will be supported.”