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RCGP survey provides snapshot of how GP care is accessed in latest stages of pandemic

Remote consultations can provide both benefits and challenges for patients and GPs and while convenient and efficient for many, “won’t be suitable or preferable for everyone”, the Royal College of GPs (RCGP) said as it released new survey data of its members.

Its survey of 829 GPs across the UK, looking at access to GP services, found that between 9 -22 July on average, 61% of GP appointments were conducted by telephone, with a further 16% spent doing telephone triage, 11% were conducted face-to-face, 6% by SMS or email, 4% online via video and 3% were home and care home visits.

While just 4% of consultations were reported being done by video, 88% of respondents said their surgery was equipped to deliver video or e-consultations versus 5% before the COVID-19 pandemic - and 74% said they had done at least some consultations this way. 

Asked about the efficiency of delivering consultations remotely, 70% of respondents said telephone consultations increase efficiency, while 67% said video or e-consultations do so. Furthermore, 76% of respondents said that GP-led telephone triage increases efficiency, 66% said non-GP triage and 65% said online triage increased efficiency respectively.

Data from the RCGP’s Research and Surveillance Centre (RSC), which collects practice data from over 500 GP practices in England, shows that at the peak of the pandemic, around 71% of GP consultations were conducted remotely by telephone or video and 25% were conducted face-to-face. This is compared to the same period last year, which showed around 70% were conducted face to face and 25% remotely.

However, the RSC’s most recent figures show face-to-face consultations have increased by 40% over the last eight weeks, while demand for telephone consultations has increased 4%: for the week ending 19 July, 67% of appointments were via telephone and 29% face-to-face.


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