GP appointments

Many GPs are still not offering 'in person' appointments

Andrew wrote to John Baron MP

 

A number of people have contacted me in recent months regarding ongoing difficulties in obtaining face-to-face appointments with their GP. Health services fall outside my remit as a borough councillor but I wrote to our local Member of Parliament, John Baron MP, to outline the concerns that had been expressed to me by some residents, wondering why so many GP surgeries are still not open normally and offering face-to-face appointments.

I must confess to feeling a deeply ingrained sense of deference towards doctors but the fact remains that they were among the first to be 'double-jabbed' precisely so that they could resume seeing patients. It is necessary, therefore, to ask why so many GPs are still preferring to meet their patients virtually or over the telephone rather than face-to-face.

As I said to Mr Baron in my letter, I yield to no-one in my admiration for our General Practitioners, who were in the front line during the Covid pandemic. Their response, along with that of the NHS, was tremendous. Of course, as infections rates rose, it was clearly prudent for GPs to triage patients and limit face-to-face contact to instances where this was strictly clinically necessary. We do know, however, that this has not been without cost and that many people out there have seen their access to necessary treatment curtailed by lockdowns and Covid measures. It is, therefore, essential in my view that as normal a service as possible be resumed at the earliest opportunity and it is not clear to me, at this point, why so many GPs are still not seeing patients in person.

We are all human. Many of us, myself included, shift to working from home throughout the pandemic and, in so doing, found that a happy dividend of all the stress and strain of Covid was, actually, a much better work-life balance, greater flexibility, reduced commuting costs and more time with family. I would be the last person to blame anyone for feeling that, actually, they prefer working from home where possible. I do suspect that there are a few GPs who are reluctant to return to their old way of working. Ultimately, however, there is no escaping the feeling that a vital public service is being quietly downgraded and that, I feel, does need to be challenged.

So I mean this as no criticism of GPs or other health professionals, for whom I have the highest regard, but they exist to serve the interests of patients and of public health and it is the need of patients, rather than the convenience of doctors, that should be of paramount importance. Basildon Hospital and the rest of the NHS has now fully re-opened and I feel very strongly that GP surgeries should do the same.

To that end, I wrote to Mr Baron, who passed my letter on to the Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC). I have since received a reply from the responsible minister, Maria Caulfield MP, Minister for Primary Care & Public Safety. The reply is extremely encouraging. In her letter, the Minister acknowledges all that GPs did during the pandemic, most notably in the rollout of the vaccination programme, and the increase in demand for GP appointments and, while online or telephone appointments can provide flexibility and convenience for both patients and practitioners, they are not appropriate for all patients.

I was pleased to read last month that the Government published a plan for improving access for patients, including support for GP surgeries. You can find more details of this here. Miss Caulfield confirmed that the Government are investing £250m in a Winter Access Fund to improve access to GP practice services and increase the number of face-to-face appointments.

If anyone needs, and is struggling to obtain, a face-to-face GP appointment, please feel free to email me at andrew.schrader@members.basildon.gov.uk, copying in John Baron MP (baronj@parliament.uk), and include your full name and address.