‘Satisfaction rises when patients have better access to GPs’ says College Chair

Responding to a BJGP study on face-to-face appointments, Professor Kamila Hawthorne, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, said:

“GPs want the very best for all their patients, so it is very encouraging to hear of positive experiences and patient satisfaction rates rising.

"Most appointments in general practice - around 65% in January- are still carried out in person and we know that many patients prefer to see their GP face to face. We also know that many patients prefer the convenience that remote consultations offer; some find it a more comfortable way to access care or more convenient. How a patient accesses their care should be a shared decision and if a patient would prefer to see their GP in person, this should be a part of this conversation.

“This study shows that when patients have better access to their GPs, satisfaction with their care rises. But too many of our patients are still struggling to get appointments when they need them, despite GPs working harder than ever to ensure that they receive safe and timely care. This is as frustrating for GPs as it is for our patients, but while demand for our services continues to grow, both in complexity and volume, we simply don't have enough GPs to keep up. 

“General practice is the front door to the NHS, delivering the vast majority of patient contacts, but we are under incredible pressure. GPs and our teams are delivering over one million appointments per day, with fewer fully trained, full time equivalent GPs than six years ago.

“The wider GP team – including practice nurses, physiotherapists – are highly valued and can provide excellent care for patients when it isn’t necessary or appropriate to see a doctor. But these team members are not GPs and should not be used to plug gaps in the workforce that have been created by years of underinvestment and poor workforce planning by successive governments.

“We have been encouraged by commitments from this Government to redirect funding towards primary care and bring back the family doctor – but general practice has faced decades of neglect, and we need to see action to turn things around. This is why we have called for urgent investment in primary care, including in recruiting and retaining the excellent GPs that we already have, so that there are sufficient numbers of highly trained and qualified GPs to deliver the care all our patients deserve.”

Further information

RCGP press office: 0203 188 7659
press@rcgp.org.uk

Notes to editors

The Royal College of General Practitioners is a network of more than 54,000 family doctors working to improve care for patients. We work to encourage and maintain the highest standards of general medical practice and act as the voice of GPs on education, training, research and clinical standards.