GPs told to guarantee same-day appointments for urgent cases

11 minutes agoNick TriggleHealth correspondent

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GPs in England will have to guarantee same-day appointments for any patient with urgent health needs, under a new clause being added to their contract.

The government said the changes would ensure everyone who needs to be seen quickly would be.

Extra funding is being provided – equivalent to a 3.6% boost above inflation – to help fund the new commitment.

But the British Medical Association said the government was at risk of creating unrealistic expectations given how stretched GP services already were.

You can now book online to see your GP. But is it any easier to get an appointment?

GPs already set aside a chunk of their daily appointments to try to ensure patients who need an immediate appointment can get one.

But, currently, there is no requirement to measure how many patients who need a same-day appointment get one.

From April it will become a contractual requirement to monitor this and achieve it in 90% of cases.

The 10% leeway is being built in to reflect that some patients may not be able to make a same-day appointment or may call too late in the day to be realistically given one.

It is not yet clear how urgent cases will be defined.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: “We are fixing the front door to the NHS. Many more patients with urgent needs will be able to get an appointment the day they contact their practice.”

It marks the latest in a series of changes to the way primary care services work. Last year the government ordered GPs to introduce online booking for non-urgent cases.

Earlier on Wednesday ministers announced a new bonus – worth up to £3,000 a year for the average GP practice – to maximise the use of weight-loss drug Mounjaro.

The boost in funding, which is in line with the wider increase in the NHS budget that was announced in last year’s spending review, will bring spending on GP services close to £14 billion.

Unreaslistic

This is not the first time a Labour government has tried to set a target for immediate access. In 2000, a 48-hour target was set, but by the 2005 election campaign it was causing controversy, with patients complaining that they could not book an appointment in advance because so many were being held back for quick bookings.

The BMA’s GPs committee chair, Dr Katie Bramall, said the government was at risk of creating “unrealistic expectations”, pointing out GP services were already stretched.

While the number of GPs working in the NHS has been increasing over the last year or so, the number of patients per GP is still a fifth higher than it was eight years ago.

And Office for National Statistics surveys shows only one in five patients believe services have got better in the past year. The majority say they have neither improved or got worse.

Dr Bramall said the BMA had not had an opportunity to negotiate with the government about the changes.

It’s GPs committee is due to meet on Thursday to decide whether it should challenge the imposition of the contract.

Chris McCann, of the patient watchdog Healthwatch England, said: “The new contract will be welcome news for people who have struggled to access GP services.

“Plans to recruit more doctors should make it easier for patients to get appointments and ensure urgent cases are handled more quickly.

“People consistently tell us that GP services are becoming harder to use and that simply getting through the door for care can be a challenge.”