Patients are fed up with seeing GPS on a laptop

TWO-THIRDS of patients would prefer to see a GP in person and an overwhelming 89 per cent are concerned that remote consultations lead to mistakes, a poll for the Sunday Express has revealed.

Many patients are unhappy with the move towards “telehealth” appointments.

Some 26 per cent said they are “significantly concerned” about a missed or incorrect diagnosis, 34 per cent are “fairly”concerned and 29 per cent “slightly”, with only 11 per cent “not at all concerned”.

Just 12 per cent preferred a consultation by video call compared with 66 per cent who want an inperson appointment. Just over half would rather wait for an in-person appointment while 39 per cent would accept a next-day video consultation.

Older people were more unhappy about remote consultations, a poll of 1,500 people by Redfield & Wilton Strategies found.

The findings come as NHS Digital revealed that in December only 61.1 per cent of appointments were in-person and 34.7 per cent by phone. In 2019 it was 79.5 per cent face-to-face and phone-only was 13.8.

Dennis Reed, of campaign group Silver Voices, said: “Many older people are not comfortable using remote technology and certainly don’t want to describe intimate symptoms over the phone.”

Rachel Power, boss of the Patients Association, said the poll backed up its own findings. She said there is frustration at not even getting through to the surgery and wishes being disregarded.

“We know general practice is under enormous pressure but millions of patients have struggled to get appointments of any kind. This isn’t acceptable,” she added.

Dr Farah Jameel, at the BMA doctor body, said: “Remote consultations have enabled GPS to prioritise and see patients who clinically need face-to-face appointments more quickly.”

However he said it is “not perfect or appropriate for all” and urged better tech and GP staffing.