From today, each GP office in England will have to offer online appointments reservations throughout the day.
This decision, commanded by the government, aims to reduce the so-called “8h scramble” to embark on practices on the phone, but is opposed by the British Medical Association.
Surgergia will have to provide the service from 8:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday to Friday.
In addition to the request for non-urgent appointments, patients will also be able to ask questions and describe the symptoms and request a reminder.
However, dozens of patients have contacted your voice, your news from the BBC with greatly saying that they find it difficult to access online reservations, despite the change.
One, Keith, 54, said: “Rank of my local doctors to discover the possibility of making an online reservation to meet to be informed by the receptionist that she has no knowledge of this and they always make the lottery at 8 am.”
And Jo, 53, added: “My GP surgery has the capacity to book online, but there is never availability.”
Meanwhile, the BMA warned that there was a risk that patients could be endangered and the seriously missed cases by forcing through the movement.
The union of doctors said that there would be a “potential online online sorting tsunami” which could overwhelm practices. He urged more to be done to ensure guarantees, such as allowing GP practices to temporarily extinguish the online booking mechanism if the staff had trouble managing the number of patients.
On Wednesday, the BMA announced that it officially passed a dispute on the system, opening the way to a protest action. This could include work with regard to a limit on the number of GPS patients will agree to see.
But the ministers argue that they have provided sufficient financial support to allow GP practices to introduce the system.
Many practices already offer this option for years – although some deactivate it during the busy periods.
Currently, around 6 million meetings per month are reserved online – approximately one out of five.
The Minister of Care Stephen Kinnock said: “We have promised to fight against the 8 am race and facilitate access to patients to access their GP practice more easily – and that’s exactly what we provide.
“We bring our analog health service to the digital age, giving patients a greater choice. We have learned general practitioners who already offer this service and collect the awards.”
This is the second major digital announcement this week after the Prime Minister unveiled the online NHS plans – a virtual hospital service – during the Labor Party Conference on Tuesday.
Digital innovation was one of the fundamental themes of the NHS plan at 10 years old unveiled during the summer.
The government said it had invested 1.1 billion pounds additional to support this decision.
The government argued that the online reservation of general practitioners will help to release telephone lines for those who need to go to a doctor urgently, as well as relieve pressure on A&C units. Research shows that when patients find it difficult to switch to their general practitioner on the phone, they are more likely to turn to A&E.
Currently, just over half of patients report that it is easy to go to the phone, according to the NHS England GP patients.
The government said the change had been agreed with the BMA in April as part of the government’s reforms in the GP contract.
Dr Amanda Doyle, of NHS England, said: “This step will help modernize the general practice by facilitating online access than to call or go to your practice, ensuring that telephone lines are available for those who need it most and facilitating sorting practices according to clinical needs.”
And Jacob Lant, director general of the patient Watchdog National Voices, said: “Online booking systems are a fundamental element in the construction of a 21st century NHS, but so far, the implementation has been frustrating.
“Best GP practices have shown what is possible. It is true that primary care is subject to immense pressure, but the response to demand management must be to use these digital systems more efficiently.”
Practices are also required to publish on their websites a new patient charter nicknamed “You and your general practitioner” – informing patients what they can expect from their practice and how to give comments or lift concerns.
