NHS England publishes contractual GP ‘patient charter’

NHS England has published the ‘patient charter’ which GP practices will need to display on their website, setting out the standard of care they are contracted to provide.

As part of the GP contract changes for 2025/26, practices will be required to publish a ‘publicly accessible document’, which sets out ‘in black and white’ what patients can expect from their GP and what to do if patient expectations ‘aren’t met’, as well as what is expected of patients.

The document, written by NHS England and published on their website this morning, indicated that practice teams must consider requests for an appointment or medical advice and tell patients ‘within one working day what will happen next’.

NHS England told Pulse the document was released in error and it has not been published officially yet. The final document is set to be published ‘in the coming weeks’, subject to ‘final approval’.

All GPs will have to publish the charter on their practice website, however NHSE clarified that ‘this guidance is not yet in effect pending full implementation of the 2025/26 GP contract changes’.

The charter document released this morning said that patients must be able to contact their practice in person, via phone, online via the practice website or the NHS App throughout working hours, from 8am to 6:30pm Monday to Friday.

It added: ‘You can choose the way you contact your practice based on what is best for you. Some practices may have longer hours or may ask that you contact them via phone or in person for urgent queries.

‘Your practice will decide what is best for you based on your clinical need. Your practice cannot tell you to just call back the next day.

‘You might be offered a face-to-face appointment or a phone call with a GP or other member of the practice staff, like a nurse or pharmacist. If you have a carer, they can speak for you with your consent.

‘You can ask to see a preferred healthcare professional, and the practice will try to meet your request, although you might have to wait longer for that person to be available.

‘It can be helpful to see the same healthcare professional, particularly if you have a long-term health condition.’

The BMA’s GP Committee and NHS England have yet to negotiate the final terms of the requirement to keep online consultation tools open throughout core hours.

The document also stated that practices refusing patients’ registration must write to them within 14 days and explain why the registration was refused.

It added: ‘A practice can only say no for a good reason, like if you live too far away or their patient list is closed.

‘For example, they cannot say no for reasons such as immigration status, not having a permanent address, or for reasons connected with other characteristics protected under equalities legislation.’

It also added that practices ‘should treat everyone fairly, kindly and respectfully’ and that likewise, patients ‘should also treat staff with respect’ and that practices can remove patients from their list ‘if they are violent or abusive to staff’.

The document also set out who patients can make complaints about their practice, saying that they can ‘ask to speak to the practice manager’.

It added: ‘If you don’t feel comfortable doing this, contact your integrated care board (ICB) – the local NHS body that oversees GPs practices.

‘You can also give feedback about your practice to your local Healthwatch. Their job is to make sure NHS leaders and other decision-makers hear your voice and use your feedback to improve care. Healthwatch is independent and impartial, and any information you share with them is confidential.’

NHS England also set out a list of ways patients can ‘help their GP practice’, including:

• Before an appointment, patients should think about writing down symptoms, what they are worried about and what they want to talk about
• Being late for an appointment or being unavailable for a timed call-back ‘can affect other patients’
• Cancel if needed as soon as possible.
• Use the NHS App or website to book or cancel appointments, order repeat prescriptions, and see test results online
• Order repeat medicines on time
• Join the Patient Participation Group

An NHS England spokesperson said: ‘This charter was published in draft to support the passage of the amendments to the GP contract through Parliament, with a disclaimer included to make clear that it is not yet in effect pending full implementation of the 2025-26 GP contract changes. 

‘We will be working with practices to ensure they’re prepared ahead of the requirement to link to this information from September, and NHS England is also developing guidance for ICBs so they are able to put in place processes to support patients using the document.’

Note: this story was updated at 3pm on 19 June to state that NHS England released the document in error and that the final document will be published in the coming weeks.