Nearly 1,000 GP clinics have been requested for face-to-face appointments

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Nearly 1,000 GP clinics have been released to improve patient access, amid growing concern about the number of patients struggling to see their family doctor.

Sajid Javid, the health minister, said GPs should make face-to-face appointments, after patient groups urged the government to “control” the deepening crisis.

Health officials have identified hundreds of surgeries that have failed to meet the needs of their local communities, with long waiting times and low levels of satisfaction.

In May, NHS chiefs promised to scrap the “total triage” system introduced during the pandemic which meant patients were turning down face-to-face appointments.

But the latest figures show that the number of patients who got an in-person appointment fell last month, with 420,000 fewer consultations. In total, only 57 percent of GP appointments were face-to-face in July, compared to 80 percent before Covid.

It came on the heels of a profit rally that saw the average GP pay out £100,000 in 2019/20, before taxes and expenses.

Now, NHS officials have identified more than 900 practices that fail to meet basic standards for patient access, and who are now subject to orders to improve the service they provide.

Practices with longer waiting times for routine appointments, poor patient feedback and understaffing are being targeted to provide safe services, with extra support and advice, under the NHS’ Improved Access programme.

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