Will online appointment requests and less red tape solve the GP crisis?
He has just (Friday, February 28, 2025) announced a new contract with England’s GPs, providing an extra £889 per year – but the vast majority of that (£800 million) is just to cover rising running costs including staff wages, repair and maintenance of buildings, and the cost of more patients.
The rest will go towards a Labour manifesto commitment to cut what’s been called the “8am scramble” for GP appointments – partly by getting more patients to request appointments online.
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This Writer has experience of booking appointments online – it was easy and satisfying.
But I would strongly resist any attempt to go further than that. Moves to carry out the appointments online should be discouraged if Streeting tries to introduce them at any point because GPs’ inability to physically examine patients may lead to misdiagnosis or the need for a follow-up in-person appointment, which means the initial appointment will have been a waste of time.
As it is, people with limited computer skills will have difficulty accessing online services and will have to continue relying on the phone – or the “8am scramble”.
So it’s not a perfect solution – but no solution ever is.
I’m wondering how Streeting will work his beloved private companies into this agreement. Will they provide the online service? Will his plan for more “flexibility” in employing different staff involve bringing in people from the private sector?
Or is this genuinely free of that kind of interference?
The devil’s in the details – as always with this Labour government.
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Will online appointment requests and less red tape solve the GP crisis?
Will online appointment requests and less red tape solve the GP crisis?
He has just (Friday, February 28, 2025) announced a new contract with England’s GPs, providing an extra £889 per year – but the vast majority of that (£800 million) is just to cover rising running costs including staff wages, repair and maintenance of buildings, and the cost of more patients.
The rest will go towards a Labour manifesto commitment to cut what’s been called the “8am scramble” for GP appointments – partly by getting more patients to request appointments online.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
This Writer has experience of booking appointments online – it was easy and satisfying.
But I would strongly resist any attempt to go further than that. Moves to carry out the appointments online should be discouraged if Streeting tries to introduce them at any point because GPs’ inability to physically examine patients may lead to misdiagnosis or the need for a follow-up in-person appointment, which means the initial appointment will have been a waste of time.
As it is, people with limited computer skills will have difficulty accessing online services and will have to continue relying on the phone – or the “8am scramble”.
So it’s not a perfect solution – but no solution ever is.
I’m wondering how Streeting will work his beloved private companies into this agreement. Will they provide the online service? Will his plan for more “flexibility” in employing different staff involve bringing in people from the private sector?
Or is this genuinely free of that kind of interference?
The devil’s in the details – as always with this Labour government.
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Follow Vox Political writer Mike Sivier on BlueSky
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
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