GPs in England are threatening to take action over government plans to increase patients’ online access to appointments which they say will lead to a “tsunami” of extra demand.
Ministers have been given 48 hours to put in place measures to stop GPs being overwhelmed when the new system – intended to help patients beat “the 8am scramble” – starts on Wednesday.
The British Medical Association (BMA) agreed a deal with NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) in February that will let patients request an appointment with a family doctor using online booking between 8am and 6.30pm from Monday to Friday.
The doctors’ union claims ministers have broken a promise made then to implement “necessary safeguards” before 1 October to ensure that patients only sought non-urgent consultations online.
The BMA says the extension of digital booking to everyone will overload GPs and risk patient safety.
The chair of the BMA’s GPs committee, Dr Katie Bramall, said the introduction of the system “will likely lead to the creation of hospital-style waiting lists in general practice”.
The union also says the move will lead to family doctors being able to see fewer patients face to face because they will be too busy assessing the all-day stream of requests for a consultation.
On Monday it gave the DHSC 48 hours to implement the “safety measures” promised in February as part of the new annual GP contract.
The BMA could stage a ballot for GPs to take industrial action, such as limiting the number of patients they see. An unknown number did so last year and early this year over changes to their contract that they were opposed to.
“Online systems currently cannot distinguish between non-urgent and urgent patient queries, and with practices already understaffed and overworked, GPs fear this could lead to potentially serious and life-threatening problems being delayed or missed entirely,” the BMA said.
“Doctors will need to be reallocated away from booked appointments to manage the potential online triage tsunami, leading to fewer GP appointments with patients.
“GPs are worried that without any increase in practice capacity, considerable amounts of practice time will be diverted to reviewing the barrage of online requests and queries, thus reducing time for routine appointments and planned patient care.”
The health secretary, Wes Streeting, dismissed the BMA’s concerns and insisted the changes would go ahead as planned.
The DHSC said the move “delivers on our manifesto promise to end the 8am scramble. Patients can now contact their GP digitally whenever suits them during core hours, not just in that frantic morning rush.
“It’s about choice and convenience. Patients can still phone or walk in, but now they’ve also got the online option available all day.
“More people requesting bookings online means quieter phone lines for those who need to call.”
Some of England’s 6,400 GP surgeries already operate the system the BMA is concerned about. They have found it brings “a smoother workflow and better service”, the DHSC said.
The Patients Association said what patients wanted most from GPs was fast access to advice and care, irrespective of how they sought an appointment.
Its chief executive, Rachel Power, said: “Patients should feel confident that when they book or request an appointment, whether online, on the phone, or in person, their needs will be assessed swiftly and safely by someone with the right training and skills to judge urgency.”
