Over 59,000 more GP appointments were held in March than before the COVID-19 pandemic, new data for the Black Country has revealed.
The latest figures for GP access show that 605,410 primary care appointments took place in March 2024, up from 546,278 in March 2019 (pre-pandemic).
Of these, 71% of appointments were face to face, while 45% took place on the same day as they were requested (up from 41% in 2019).
The vital role of the wider healthcare teams working alongside GPs was also clear in the statistics, as 290,908 (48%) of all appointments in March were with other trained health professionals, compared to 43% in March 2019.
The NHS published a plan last year to improve access to GP services, which includes modernising general practice to make access to care and treatment easier for patients and help improve patient satisfaction. This includes expanding pharmacy services, and offering patients more choice in how they access care.
So far, all GP practices across the Black Country have updated their websites providing patients with the option to contact their practice for assistance online. For those patients who cannot access a computer or website, plans are also in place for every practice to upgrade their telephone systems to make it easier for patients to contact their surgery.
Every GP practice offers telephone and online consultations, as well as face-to-face appointments, with some patients choosing remote appointments where it is clinically appropriate and more convenient for them. This is reflected in the latest data, which shows 26% of all appointments were telephone or online appointments, compared to just 9% in March 2019, demonstrating there isn’t one type of appointment that suits all patients.
Sarb Basi, Director of Primary Care the NHS Black Country Integrated Care Board, said: “We are proud of our primary care colleagues who continue to embrace technology and new ways of working, enabling us to provide more primary care appointments in the Black Country than before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“However, we understand that is not the picture of general practice that some of our patients are experiencing right now. The reality is that even though primary care teams are working harder than ever, and the data shows they are seeing more patients than ever, the demand continues to increase.
“We are committed to improving patients' experience and access to primary care which is why we have extended access to appointments for evenings and weekends, we are working to increase the range of healthcare professionals working in primary care to support GPs, we are modernising telephone systems to make it easier for people to contact their GP and are making better use of digital alternatives where appropriate.”
The new statistics have also revealed that more than 36,000 (6%) of appointments in March were recorded as “did not attend” – commonly referred to as DNAs. This is where a patient fails to attend an appointment and does not cancel so it can’t be rebooked by the practice.
Sarb Basi added: “We know that missing appointments is not something people do intentionally, however, at a time when demand on NHS services remains high, it is very important that GP appointments are not going to waste. Please make every effort to cancel any GP appointments that are no longer needed, so somebody else can have the slot.”
In many practices, appointments can be cancelled by text, online or via the NHS App, so there’s no need to phone.
For more information about primary care in the Black Country, click here.
