Once this election is done and dusted, can we please stop talking in terms of "GP appointments"?
Yes, I too am sick of having to ring up my GP practice at 8am, being put in a queue for ages, only to be told that there are no appointments left 😠
And I’m not the only one who feels this way.
That’s why GP access has been such a hot topic this election: the Tories have assured us that they will free up GP appointments, Labour are guaranteeing face-to-face GP appointments, and the LibDems have promised to you’ll be able to see your GP within a week.
But they all miss the mark.
Politicians are obsessed with talking about old-fashioned "GP appointments". In reality, not everything needs to be an appointment.
If you want a repeat prescription, a sick note, some physio, or smoking cessation advice, then you don’t necessarily need a GP appointment.
In fact, only 15% of patients who use Evergreen Life ask for a face-to-face appointment – the rest would prefer a phone call or messaging with whoever is most appropriate.
Not all care can be delivered in this way, but a lot more could be done asynchronously and/or remotely. The technology is there.
Which begs the question…why are we still talking about “GP appointments”?
Let’s hope the discourse moves on before the next election...