Millions of patients face months of misery after the militant union representing GPs threatened to strike.
The BMA – which led the five day resident doctors walkout in July – is angered that NHS patients should be allowed to submit unlimited online consultation requests.
Ministers say those in need of a doctor should be able to contact their surgery online throughout the day. The BMA claims this move could become a “critical patient safety issue”
Changes were intended to free up GP phone lines in a bid to end the 8am lottery but the BMA says the proposals will “open the floodgates” to unmet need and inadvertently make access for patients more difficult.
Some surgeries have angered patients who are already struggling to speak to a receptionist, let alone book an appointment, by suspending online bookings without warning.
Those who are able to book appointments cannot always see a doctor and are instead offered consultations with a nurse or physician associate in what some patients have claimed is healthcare apartheid.
Members of the BMA GPs committee for England voted to re-enter dispute with the Government about regulatory changes due to come into effect from October 1 raising the prospect of a walkout in the latest crisis to beset the health service.
It wants practices to have the ability to divert online consultation requests to telephone and walk-in options if they are “overwhelmed”.
Chair Katie Bramall-Stainer said: “Imposing such changes on general practice, ignoring our repeated warnings, will do the opposite of bringing back the family doctor.
“But all is not lost – we still have time for the Government to act and meet us halfway.
“We’re exploring all our options right now. Hopefully we can find a resolution before we take it any further. I want to work with the Government and deliver an NHS that we can be even more proud of.”
The crisis comes after July’s walkout by resident doctors – previously known as junior doctors – was the 12th round of industrial action to cripple the NHS since 2023.
They agreed a 22.3% pay rise last year – and have been awarded 5.4% on average this year – but are demanding 29% to return them to “real terms” pay levels seen in 2008.
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting told the missing medics the public was angered at how “after a 28.9 per cent pay rise you would still walk out on strike”. The dispute remains unresolved.
The Department of Health and Social Care said: “The shift from analogue to digital is a key part of our 10 Year Health Plan to help fix the front door of the NHS and in 2025, patients rightly expect to be able contact their GP online.
“There are GP surgeries already successfully rolling out online appointment requests, showing it works for patients and practices. The BMA signed up to and agreed this policy with GPs, and we remain committed to wanting to work together to implement this as efficiently as possible.”
