Is the increased availability of online patient access allied to upgraded telephone systems ushering in the end of the 8am health appointment rush? It certainly seems so if the experience of one Leeds surgery is anything to go by. According to NHS England, the Lingwell Croft surgery deploys a mix of online contact forms, phone requests and walk-in options in order to provide an appointment service which best fits the needs of their patients.

The practice says that this has resulted in the receipt of some 350 e-consult requests each day, albeit it says mainly from younger patients. Those who still prefer to telephone in order to book an appointment have the option to either speak to someone or to leave a voicemail which is transcribed using voice recognition software. All requests, no matter how received, are triaged by two GPs and two care navigators with patients directed to the most appropriate member of the practice team, whether that be doctors, nurses, paramedics or physiotherapists.

NHS England says that thanks to GP practices making best use of technologies such as improved phone systems and digital records they have been able to offer 31.4 million GP appointments in March 2025. That’s an increase of 6.1% on the previous March and nearly 20% higher than in pre-pandemic times.

However, Dr Amanda Doyle, National Director for Primary Care and Community Services urged healthcare practices not to become complacent, commenting that: “there’s still more to do to make it easier for patients to contact and see their local GP, which includes making even better use of new technology to improve patient care”.

That caveat was born out by a British Social Attitudes survey published in April 2025 which revealed that just 31% of people in the UK were satisfied with their GP service, compared with 68% in 2019. Over the same period the percentage of individuals who saw their GP had fallen from 80% to 66%. However, what the survey didn’t show is whether that fall in GP visits was matched by a targeted increase in the use of other health professionals such as physiotherapists or mental care specialists.

The move towards prevention rather than post-condition treatment allied to more targeted health delivery may also impact these numbers and therefore patient satisfaction levels going forward. Interestingly, a report published by the UK Health Security Agency on 2 May 2025 highlighted the correlation between deprivation and health needs. For example, the report showed that those living in deprived communities are twice as likely to be hospitalised for invasive infections or respiratory diseases and 1.7 times as likely to be hospitalised for gastrointestinal diseases. This led to the findings that inequalities in emergency infectious disease hospital admissions cost the NHS between £970m and £1.5b in 2022-23 as well as accounting for some 20% of hospital bed use.

Commenting on the report Dr Leonora Weil, Deputy Director for Health Equity and Inclusion at UKHSA said: “These health protection inequalities – where there are poorer health outcomes based on where you live, your socio-economic status or ethnicity are avoidable, pervasive, and preventable. That is why it is so important to shine a light on these findings to increase action to support communities to live longer and in better health.”