Leicestershire GP says virtual appointments are a 'necessity' in the healthcare industry
Data shows a 30% increase in the number of virtual appointments in June this year compared to last
A Leicestershire GP has shared with us how over the phone and online appointments are a "necessity" to meet demand.
It comes as a third of GP appointments in England in June were carried out this way, the highest proportion since the pandemic.
The figure is up from 30.9% a year earlier in June 2024, and 28.3% in June 2023, according to new analysis of NHS England data by the PA news agency.
Dr Grant Ingrams, a GP and the Chief Executive of the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland local medical committee, tells us more:
"For as long as there's been phones, there have been phone consultations and online services with GP's, so these aren't a new thing.
"In 2004, over 2 decades ago now, my then practised, trialled an online patient consultation service which was well received. In fact the oldest person using it was more than 100. Then, before the pandemic my practise offered the choice to patients, of phone consultations and at the time a third chose them, because they found them more convenient. In fact, now, sometimes it's actually difficult to get busy people, that actually need to attend a face to face appointment, into the practice.
"During COVID, of course, we had no option and no choice but to move to almost 100% online and phone consultations, just to try and keep people safe. But now, now that it's over, the numbers are settling down again and I think probably long term it'll settle about again about 1/3 of patients being served by our online and telephone consultations."
Other family doctors agreed and said remote consultations "offer convenience and flexibility that many patients value", and the majority of appointments are still delivered face to face.
As many as four in 10 appointments were carried out by phone or online during the pandemic, but the proportion fell once the impact of Covid-19 eased and had dropped to 27.7% in January 2023.
In the past two years the figure has risen slowly but steadily, driven by a sharp increase in consultations taking place online.
These accounted for only 1.5% of all GP appointments in June 2023 but had jumped to 4.9% by June 2024 and 8.0% in June this year.
This has helped push up the combined figure for phone and online appointments to its current post-pandemic high of 33.3%.
The figure just for telephone appointments has remained broadly unchanged over this period, at about 25%.
Professor Kamila Hawthorne, chairwoman of the Royal College of GPs (RCGP), said: "Remote consultations, whether delivered over the phone or via video, can offer convenience and flexibility that many patients value, and evidence has shown that in the vast majority of cases, remote care is safe.
"Often a GP might initially consult with a patient remotely and then ask them to come into the practice if it's necessary to see them in person.
"However, we also know that many patients prefer to access their care in-person, and this is how the majority of appointments are still delivered.
"Over the last 12 months, GPs and their teams have delivered a record-breaking number of appointments, and nearly 250 million were carried out in person."
Some 63.3% of GP appointments in June in England were in person, data shows, down from 65.3% a year earlier and 68.4% in June 2023.
Online appointments include those carried out using live chat tools or non-video apps, as well as video-based calls.
The proportion of appointments taking place by phone or online varies across the regions, with the figures for June ranging from 38.2% in London to 28.4% in North East and Yorkshire.
Prof Hawthorne said the college "supports a mixed-method approach to delivering care" in general practice and decisions on how appointments are carried out are between clinicians and patients.
"What's key is that when GPs are consulting with their patients remotely, they have access to the robust and up-to-date IT systems that allows them to do so safely and effectively," she added.
Prof Hawthorne said the Government "has put forward some encouraging proposals to improve the GP practice digital infrastructure and IT systems" but "significant investment" is needed to make this a reality.
She added: "The college has called for additional funding of at least £2 billion to ensure our physical and digital infrastructure is fit for purpose so we can offer patients the appointment that's right for them."
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "We've made real progress fixing the front door of the NHS, recruiting more than 2,000 GPs in the last year and delivering an additional 7 million GP appointments to improve access for patients.
"Through our 10 Year Health Plan we are delivering Neighbourhood Health Services that deliver more personalised, proactive care in local areas where it is more convenient for patients.
"This Government is also clear that patients should have access to health and care when they need it and people who prefer a face-to-face appointment should have one, so we are transforming the NHS app to make managing your healthcare online easy and flexible."