FROM today (October 1), all GP practices in England are required to offer online appointment bookings throughout the day.
The government said the move is aimed at reducing the “8am scramble” when patients try to get through on the phone.
Surgeries will now have to provide the service from 08:00 to 18:30, Monday to Friday. Patients will be able to request non-urgent appointments, describe symptoms, ask questions and request a call back, BBC reported.
The British Medical Association (BMA) has warned that serious health problems could be missed, creating a “potential online triage tsunami.”
It has called for safeguards, such as allowing practices to switch off online booking if staff cannot cope with demand, and said it may consider industrial action in the form of work-to-rule.
Health ministers have decided to proceed, saying £1.1 billion of additional funding has been invested to support the change.
Care Minister Stephen Kinnock said: “We promised to tackle the 8am scramble and make it easier for patients to access their GP practice – and that's exactly what we're delivering.”
NHS England’s Dr Amanda Doyle said the step would help modernise general practice, while Jacob Lant of National Voices said online booking was “a fundamental building block of a 21st Century NHS.”
Practices must also now publish a new charter, “You and Your GP,” on their websites, setting out patient expectations and how feedback can be given.
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