All GP surgeries will be forced to accept online bookings during surgery opening hours for the first time today in a major victory for long-suffering patients. The move – opposed by doctors – is a bid to end the daily phone lottery and “healthcare apartheid” that sees some in need of medical care turned away by receptionists.
Patients will be able to request appointments, ask questions, and describe symptoms online throughout the day rather than calling their surgery or visiting in person. Online access varies wildly across the UK with patients furious GP practices disable online booking facilities off when they reach a certain number, while others only allow the function to operate for a few hours a day.
Some have not allowed patients to use it since Covid.
When patients are unable to get through on the phone, some 6.6% end up in A&E.
Care Minister Stephen Kinnock said: “We promised to tackle the 8am scramble and make it easier for patients to access their GP practice – and through our Plan for Change, that’s exactly what we’re delivering.
“We are bringing our analogue health service into the digital era, giving patients greater choice and convenience. We’ve learned from GPs who are already offering this service and reaping the rewards.
“We’ve invested an extra £1.1 billion in general practice – the biggest increase in over a decade – and hired an extra 2,000 GPs across England. There’s more to do, but this government is fixing the front door to the NHS.”
Changes were agreed with the BMA in April as part of the reforms the government made to the GP contract but there is widespread opposition from doctors who say they are too busy.
The new requirement for online access represents best practice that some GP practices across England have already adopted successfully.
It comes after Health Secretary Wes Streeting attacked the BMA’s heel-dragging over online appointments, saying: “It is absurd that in 2025 many patients can’t request appointments online. If you can book a hair appointment online, you should be able to book an NHS appointment too.
“Many GPs are already offering this service, and now it will be provided to patients across the country. This move – which the BMA agreed to – will support GPs to care for their patients who need non-urgent care. We have agreed clear safeguards, where patients will be directed to phone up or attend in person for urgent appointments. The BMA knows this.
“This government will always put the interests of patients first, and we will not stand for our NHS being held back in the analogue age.”
