GPs urged to sign letter demanding Government halts online access changes

GPs have been urged to sign an open letter to the health secretary demanding that recent online access contract changes are paused ‘until full impact assessments and safety reviews are completed’.

A group of frontline GPs from the Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK) said that the changes have left them ‘deeply alarmed’ for the ‘safety and sustainability’ of general practice itself.

They wrote to Wes Streeting urging him to pause the implementation, warning that many practices ‘are already operating beyond safe capacity’ and that the new mandatory access route creates further demand that ‘cannot be absorbed without consequences’.

The DAUK, which is non-profit organisation led by frontline doctors, is also encouraging GPs to write to their MP urging them to call for a pause to the requirements.

It comes after the BMA entered dispute with the Government over the changes, arguing that they are currently not safe to implement. Pulse exclusively revealed that the union had previously asked for the changes to be halted to address ‘significant concerns’ around patient safety.

However, the Government has repeatedly dismissed the concerns, with primary care minister Stephen Kinnock telling Pulse that he was confident necessary patient safeguards were in place ahead of the changes.

DAUK GP spokesperson Dr Steve Taylor told Pulse that the association has been ‘increasingly concerned’ about comments from the Department of Health and Social Care aimed at GPs, which implied that the concerns about the changes came from ‘just a few BMA leaders’.

He said: ‘We are not those GPs and have heard nothing but increasing concern from colleagues and patients alike. It is puzzling that they should be picking a fight with the use of phrases like ‘laggards’ and ‘refuseniks’ about the group providing 20% more appointments with less resources.

‘Yet when GPs express concern about the top down imposition of contract changes leading to problems they refuse to listen.

‘Top down appears to be the approach. So by getting people and GPs to write to Wes Streeting and their MPs we hope they will see it’s not just the BMA GP committee or LMCs but also grassroots GPs and patients alike.’

The open letter included several demands (see box) and said that practices are now expected to ‘do more, for more people, through more routes’, without ‘a single additional clinician, administrator or hour in the day’.

It said: ‘The consequences will be clinician burnout, collapsing practices, and longer waits for patients who truly need medical care. 

‘What begins as “improving access” will end as diminished access because you cannot increase capacity by changing the door through which patients enter.

‘General practice is not a limitless resource. When GPs burn out and practices close, whole communities are left without care. 

‘The consequences will not be theoretical, they will be real, immediate, and visible in every town and city across the country, and will result in direct harm to patients.’

Since 1 October, GPs have been contractually required to keep online systems open for patient requests between 8am and 6.30pm for routine enquiries regardless of capacity, and ICBs have been told by NHS England that they should ensure the changes are implemented.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: ‘This Government was elected with a mandate to end the 8am scramble. We have invested an extra £1.1 billion in general practice this year, the biggest funding increase in a decade, and recruited more than 2,000 additional GPs.

‘Changes to online consultation tools were agreed with doctors’ representatives earlier this year and more time was given to help prepare for change. It is not unreasonable of patients to expect to be able to book appointments online in 2025. We are grateful to the many GP practices which are already using this approach successfully. We will continue to support those practices who need extra help, as we rebuild our NHS together.’