GPs will not get target for face-to-face appointments despite £250m fund to boost access

GPs will not be given a national target for holding face-to-face appointments, the chief of NHS England has suggested.

The Government and NHS England announced a £250 million fund for GPs to help improve patient access, suggesting that doctors use the money to offer walk-in clinics and extend opening hours.

Commissioners were also told to identify the worst-performing practices for offering face-to face-appointments. NHS England guidance said more than 15 per cent had recorded fewer than 20 per cent of their appointments as being held in-person.

But Amanda Pritchard, the chief executive of NHS England, suggested doctors would not be given a target to reach because they have “really tried to steer away from saying there is a ‘right number’ for face-to-face versus other types of access”.

“What’s clear is many people absolutely do prefer face-to-face access, GPs are required to provide it – it’s part of the contract,” she told the health and social care committee. However, she said the right balance of in-person versus remote would vary across the country.

It comes as a British Medical Association (BMA) survey found more than half of family doctors – 54 per cent – are considering leaving the NHS for good unless the Government can provide better support for primary care.

The survey, first reported by Pulse and carried out before the £250 million fund was announced, also found that 66 per cent would cut their hours to “protect themselves from the current crisis”.

A separate BMA poll found 93 per cent of GPs found the GP rescue plan as “unacceptable”.