Too many remote appointments with GPS during pandemic, says top doctor

A SENIOR figure at the Royal College of GPS has admitted family doctors went “too far” with remote appointments during the height of the pandemic.

Before Covid around 80 per cent of GP appointments were held face-toface, while the latest figures for Septem- ber show 68 per cent were in-person.

Some patients struggled to access their doctor at all during the pandemic, with a recent survey finding public satisfaction with GP services falling to the lowest on record.

Dr Paul Atkinson, chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners’ health informatics group, told MPS on the health and science select committee that the balance between in-person and remote appointments was not right during the pandemic.

Paulette Hamilton, Labour MP for Birmingham Erdington, asked if GPS feel they are “losing anything” in their care for patients with fewer live interactions. Dr Atkinson said: “I think during the peak of the pandemic ... patients didn’t want to come into our buildings because they were worried about what they might collect from the waiting room.”

He went on to add that this imbalance has now “gone” and the ratio of face-toface versus in-person appointments has improved.