GPs’ leader defends phone appointments

THE head of the Royal College of GPs has defended doctors who are still opting for remote consultations, saying the “pandemic isn’t over”.

Professor Martin Marshall told the Health and Social Care

Committee that some patients preferred appointments over the phone or via video. He said about 80% of GP appointments were conducted face-to-face prior to the pandemic, dropping to 10% in the first wave and now sitting at about 56%. He said: “What we’ve learned is we can do more remotely than we thought we could. Having said that, face-to face-contact is a really important part of dealing with, particularly, more complex problems.”