Kinnock encourages patients to ‘take action’ against GP practices over online access

The primary care minister has been criticised after he urged patients to ‘take action’ should GP practices not fulfil their contractual obligations around online access.  

GPs are now 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.

Pulse revealed last week that several GP practices have already been threatened with contract breach notices.

In a post on X, now deleted, minister Stephen Kinnock said: ‘The vast majority of GP surgeries are now offering this service and fulfilling these obligations.

‘However, if your surgery is not fulfilling its obligations then please read about the action you can take: https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/you-and-your-general-practice-english/’

Although the initial post was deleted, he then posted again, saying: ‘If your practice is not fulfilling its 8am-6.30pm obligations you can raise this with the practice manager, and then your Integrated Care Board.’

The patient charter document, which the minister linked to in the posts, says that if patients ‘want to give feedback, raise a concern or wish to make a formal complaint’, they should ‘ask to speak to the practice manager’ and if they ‘don’t feel comfortable doing this’, they should contact their ICB.

GPs have criticised the minister’s posts and pointed out that the requirements are ‘raising patient expectations’ without increasing capacity for practices. They argued that the posts were ‘blaming’ GPs for not meeting ‘ever-increasing workload demands’.

The Doctors’ Association GP spokesperson Dr Steve Taylor told Pulse: ‘Stephen Kinnock has been told repeatedly that online access without safeguards for patients and increase capacity of GPs is a problem.

‘He deleted a post pointing out that patients can complain. What happens if the practice does not have the resource to deal with all the triage needed?

‘For example, on Monday we had two GPs off due to illness, leaving three to deal with the demand and generating the loss of 50 appointments.

‘GPs are not being luddites or trying to obstruct innovation, they have repeatedly increased capacity, but there are limits.

‘Raising expectations without increasing capacity is a folly, worse it’s lying to patients and pretending that they are on the side of patients. Hopefully people will see through the soundbites. But sadly GPs will be blamed, held responsible, some will leave, others will breach their contracts.’

The BMA GP committee has previously warned that GPs would struggle to implement the requirements safely, and that practices would be accused of breaching their contractual obligations should they reach capacity, and has now entered formal dispute with the Government over the changes.

In a post on X, GPC deputy chair Dr David Wrigley said: ‘This is exactly why we asked for flexibilities and they flatly refused. Suck it up they’re saying. Doors still open. Phones still on. It’s driving GPs away [as they] don’t see a Government on their or the NHS side.’

Nottingham GP Dr Irfan Malik told Pulse that increasing the expectations of the public with regards to online consultations has ‘put further pressure on already overstretched GP surgeries’.

He added: ‘Major changes to appointment systems like these have to be well planned, with appropriate levels of staff and resources.

‘Media soundbites will never be able to skim over a primary care system which is on its knees. Digital systems are great, however they exclude a significant percentage of our patients. The Government should adopt a more empathic approach to working with GPs, rather than blaming them for not meeting the ever-increasing workload demands.’

A GP practice staff member, who asked to remain anonymous, said: ‘Our politicians appear to be deciding policy based on headlines without actually understanding the complexity of what we do. They are playing a high stakes game of poker, and we will not let the electorate forget this in a few years’ time.’

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: ‘The Government is backing general practice through an additional £1.1 billion investment, recruiting an extra 2,000 GPs, and has provided two above inflation pay rises to GPs – while placing them at the heart of our 10 Year Health Plan.

‘To end the 8am scramble and make it easier for patients to access primary care we have given patients more choice over how they book their appointments – by making online booking available during working hours available everywhere.

‘Many practices already allow online booking successfully, this is about ensuring that all patients and practices benefit across the country.’

NHS England clarified that GP practices are only allowed to switch off online consultation tools in core hours in ‘exceptional circumstances’ and with ICB approval.