Face-to-face appointments with GPs plummet with advice over the phone

November 16, 2016

10.5% of patients wanting a GP appointment are offered telephone advice
This is an increase on the 8% that was recorded 2 years ago, figures show
A snapshot survey also found demand had grown by 10% since 2013/14
Surgeries were struggling to cope with increased migration, experts say

Sophie Borland Health Editor For The Daily Mail

Published:
06:28 EST, 16 November 2016

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Updated:
06:33 EST, 16 November 2016

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GPs are carrying out fewer face-to-face appointments as they are so short of time, a report shows.

Patients are instead being offered telephone consultations or dealt with by nurses and pharmacists.

Research by the Kings Fund shows that on average 10.5 per cent of patients wanting an appointment are offered advice over the phone.

This is up from just 8 per cent in the same period two years ago – the remaining 92 per cent were seen.

GPs are carrying out fewer face-to-face appointments as they are so short of time and are instead offering patients telephone consultations

A snapshot survey by the think-tank of 202 surgeries also found average demand had grown by 10 per cent since 2013/14.

Researchers said surgeries were struggling to cope with the demands of migration and the aging population.

In a report today, the Kings Fund warns that GP practices and hospitals are facing their worst winter in a decade.

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Waiting times in AE and for routine operations are their highest in ten years and targets are being missed across the board.

As part of the report, the think-tank undertook research on 202 GP surgeries – about 2.5 per cent of the 7,600 in England.

Data from the first six months of this year showed that 89.5 per cent were seen by a doctor or nurse, down from 92 per cent in the same period in 2013/14.

Research shows that on average 10.5 per cent of patients wanting an appointment are offered advice over the phone. This is up from just 8 per cent in the same period two years ago

Separately, the Kings Fund surveyed 129 GPs and practice managers to find out about staffing levels.

A total of 44 per cent said a senior GP at their surgery, a ‘partner’, was planning to retire in 12 months’ time.

UPTAKE OF SMEAR TESTS IS LOWEST ON RECORD

Almost a third of young women are missing vital checks for cervical cancer, figures yesterday revealed.

Uptake is at its lowest level on record and experts blame a lack of GP appointments.

Most surgeries offer the checks only during office hours and many women are reluctant to take time off work. Some are too embarrassed to tell bosses why they need to be absent while others don’t want to use up a day’s holiday.

The figures are particularly concerning as cervical cancer rates are rising among young women, partly due to unprotected sex. There are 3,200 new cases a year and more than half occur in the under-45s.

Another 41 per cent said they were struggling to recruit family doctors.

Richard Murray, director of policy at the Kings Fund said: ‘The population is going up and it is aging.

‘The number of older people wanting appointments is also increasing rapidly.

‘People are trying to manage more complex conditions in the community and this is falling on GPs.

Chaand Nagpaul, chair of the British Medical Associations GP Committee: ‘This mirrors the pressures faced by GPs and their staff.

‘This is the result of an agenda by the Government to move care out of hospitals and an expanding older population.

‘This is why we are seeing increasing numbers of practices not coping – they are having to close and stop services.

‘This is not an exaggeration, this is what is happening on the ground.’

Chris Ham, Chief Executive of The King’s Fund, said: ‘The NHS is treating more patients than ever before, and these findings show that rising demand is putting its services under increasing pressure.’