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Reuters
GPs are told to make sure that patients can be seen face to face when they need such appointments.
NHS England is writing to all practices to ensure they are communicating the fact that doctors can be seen in person if necessary, as well as virtually.
An estimated half of the 102 million appointments from March to July were by video or phone call, NHS Digital said.
The Royal College of GPs said that any implication that GPs were not doing their jobs properly was “an insult”.
NHS England said the research suggested that nearly two-thirds of the public were happy to have a phone call or video call with their doctor, but that before winter they wanted to make sure people knew they could see their GP if they were. necessary.
Nikki Kanani, NHS England’s chief medical officer for primary care, said GPs had quickly adapted in recent months to offer remote consultation and “safe face-to-face care when needed.”
She added: “While many people, particularly those most vulnerable to Covid-19, want the convenience of a telephone or video consultation, the NHS has and will continue to offer face-to-face appointments and would urge anyone who feels they need medical support. so they can get the care, support and advice they need – the NHS is here to help. “
NHS England said it would remind GPs that they faced enforcement action if they did not offer clinically indicated face-to-face appointments. Failure to do so was a breach of her contract, she said.
Professor Martin Marshall, president of the Royal College of GP, said the general practice was “open and has been throughout the pandemic”, with predominantly remote service to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.
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He said: “The university does not want the general practice to become totally post-pandemic or even overwhelmingly remote.
“However, we are still in the middle of a pandemic. We need to consider infection control and limit the influx of patients into GP surgeries, all in line with current NHS England guidance.”
He said that most patients had understood the changes and that clinical engagement groups had been asked to work with GP practices where face-to-face appointments were not possible, for example if all GPs were at high risk of contracting coronavirus.
“Any hint that they have not been doing their job properly is an insult to GPs and their teams who have worked through the pandemic, continued to provide the vast majority of patient care on the NHS, and are facing an incredibly difficult winter due to ahead, “he said.
University research indicated that routine GP appointments returned to near normal levels for this time of year, after having subsided at the height of the pandemic.
“Each and every day of the past week, an estimated one-third of a million appointments were delivered face-to-face by general practices across the country,” added Professor Marshall.
It comes when thousands of doctors say a second spike is likely this winter, and it’s their biggest fear.
The British Medical Association’s survey of more than 8,000 doctors and medical students found that 86% of them believed that a second peak was likely, or very likely, in the next six months.
The survey indicated that clinicians believed the two most important measures to help prevent such a spike were having a fit-for-purpose test and tracking system and a “consistent, rapid and consistent approach to local outbreaks.”
BMA Board Chairman Dr. Chaand Nagpaul said: “We as a profession want above all to avoid a return to the scenes we saw in April, when hospitals were full of Covid-19 patients and hundreds they died every day.Meanwhile, thousands more people missed vital appointments and procedures because routine care was suspended.
“But while the prognosis in this survey may be bleak, it is not inevitable if the government takes decisive, robust and timely action to stop the spread of the infection.”
He called on the government to focus on “fixing the test-and-trace debacle once and for all,” adding: “We are at a critical crossroads in the fight against this deadly virus.”
