GPs are delivering two million more appointments a month compared to pre-pandemic figures, as NHS England (NHSE) hails the primary care access recovery plan for the uplift.
Over 25.7 million GP appointments were delivered in December 2023, which is a 9% increase from before the pandemic.
It also excludes Covid-19 vaccinations – the number is closer to 25.9 million including those appointments.
NHSE highlights a number of measures that have helped the increase, including upgrading phone systems, expanding care options, upskilling the workforce, and recruiting more staff.
Abbey Medical Centre in Warwickshire, for example, used data from their new and improved phone system to identify when calls were busiest to ensure more staff were available at peak times.
The same practice targeted its most frequent callers by giving them extended support from the same people – this cut their appointments by around three-quarters.
The 25 most frequent service-users took up around 50 of the 625 appointments available in a week, with the practice serving 16,000 patients.
National primary care director at NHSE, Dr Amanda Doyle, describes the news as “incredible progress from hardworking teams across the country”.
The data from December also shows that nearly half (45.7%) of all appointments were booked and delivered on the same day, which is a 3.1% jump from November. Over three in five GP appointments were delivered face-to-face in December.
Primary care minister, Andrea Leadsom, adds: “I am extremely grateful to all GPs who continue to go above and beyond to deliver the best possible care to patients.”
To learn more about how NHS staff go above and beyond, sign up to National Health Executive’s Workforce event.
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