Access to Shropshire's GPs under spotlight as face-to-face appointments fall
Fewer than six in 10 GP appointments in Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin were held face-to-face after major steps to ease coronavirus restrictions went ahead, new figures have revealed.
Charity The Patients Association has called for in-person appointments to be the default option, after it found patients nationally had struggled to access primary care in “ways that met their needs” throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
Meanwhile, Telford MP Lucy Allan says a number of patients locally have raised concerns over access to GP surgeries and she met with health bosses last week.
But GPs in the county have said they are trying their "absolute best" to provide the safest and most appropriate care, insisting that patients will get a face-to-face appointment if they need to be seen.
They also say it is important to understand that they are dealing with more appointments than ever before.
Data from NHS England shows 232,000 GP appointments were carried out across the county in June, 58 per cent of which involved a face-to-face meeting.
NHS England issued guidance to GP practices in May urging them to offer more face-to-face appointments.
But across England, just 56 per cent of consultations were held in person in June – a steep drop from the levels seen in June 2019, when 81 per cent of appointments were face-to-face, although an improvement on the 47 per cent recorded in June 2020.
Dr Jess Harvey, from Much Wenlock and Cressage Medical Practice, said: "I think it's important to realise there are more GP appointments now than ever before.
"In terms of seeing patients face-to-face, it's balancing a clinical need with patient expectations.
"There's an incredible amount that can be sorted over the phone, video or by sending in a photo.
"For a significant proportion of people that could be more convenient but if patients need to be seen they are seen."
Dr John Pepper, chair of Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Clinical Commissioning Group, said he understood the frustration of patients to not always be seen by their GPs in person, however he insisted face-to-face appointments are available and have been throughout the pandemic when clinically appropriate.
“Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin GP practices have made every effort to strike the right balance between ensuring patients get the care they need, whilst keeping people safe and managing the Covid risk," he said.
“Where face-to-face appointments have not been appropriate or safe to carry out, health professionals have worked incredibly hard to speak to patients online and over the phone, making the best use of technology in order to provide the necessary care to meet our patients' needs.”
Rachel Power, chief executive of The Patients Association, said the charity welcomed the move to require practices to offer more in-person appointments to patients who want them, but investment was needed to ensure accessibility of primary care in the event of future pandemics.
Trade union bosses said today that GP practices continue to be under immense pressure but also stressed that they will provide face-to-face care to patients who need it.
Dr Mary McCarthy, a local GP and West Midlands regional council deputy chair for the British Medical Association – a trade union for doctors, said in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin alone, GP practices booked more than 3.2 million appointments between March 2020 and last month – almost 1.9 million of which were face-to-face.
She said they also booked 25,000 more appointments in June than they did the month before.
“GP practices continue to be under immense pressure – and have worked throughout the pandemic to ensure that people living in their local areas get the care they need," Dr McCarthy said.
“The proportion of face-to-face appointments is lower than it was before the pandemic, and we know that remote consultations are not suitable for everyone.
"However, these measures are there to protect both staff and patients, many of whom are already very ill, while we know that Covid-19 continues to circulate in the community.
"GPs locally and across the country and trying their absolute best to provide the most appropriate – and safest – care to all of their patients, including providing face-to-face care for those who need it.”
Telford MP Lucy Allan says a number of residents have recently raised concerns with her about access to GP surgeries, difficulties in getting repeat prescriptions and making contact by phone, with some reporting they are unable to do so.
Last week, she met with the clinical commissioning lead and the chairman and medical director of Teldoc to share their concerns.
She said: “As restrictions lift and over 75 per cent of the population are double vaccinated there is a reasonable expectation that GP practices will begin to become more accessible to patients.
"We all recognise the challenges of Covid for every business in terms of keeping staff safe, whilst continuing to deliver a service.
"During Covid many businesses could not operate face to face, but successfully helped their customers to move online; these businesses are now operating a hybrid service, or returning to normal, as restrictions lift.
"Whilst a hybrid service could improve efficiency in GP practices, the first priority must be to enable patients to get their condition treated.
"The meetings were constructive and both Dr Chan and the clinical commissioning group explained the challenges they have faced including staff shortages and the demands being made upon them.
"I will continue to work with practices to deliver a responsive service to patients where patients can get their conditions treated. Patients understand that it is not always possible or necessary to see GP.
"But they need to have their condition treated and to do this they need to be able to speak to someone from the practice."
However, she said she remained concerned that telephone access is not working for patients as it should.
Ms Allan said she had written to Telford & Wrekin Council to ask for the authority's assistance in supporting local GP practices to improve performance.
In June, local health bosses revealed that some doctors' surgeries were seeing an increase in incidents of verbal abuse directed at staff.
The Department for Health and Social Care said the Government was grateful for the "tireless" efforts of GPs and their teams.
A spokesman said: "The Government has invested £270 million to expand GP capacity so they can cope with the increased demands and recovery pressures as a result of Covid-19, and this comes on top of the £1.5 billion for extra staff committed for general practices until 2023-24.”
