The British Medical Association (BMA) has given the Health Secretary 48 hours to act and avoid going into dispute with GPs over online access plans which they claim could put the safety of patients and staff at risk.
From October 1, GP surgeries in England will be required to keep their online consultation tool open for the duration of their working hours for non-urgent appointment requests, medication queries and admin requests.
The change was announced by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England in February as part of the new GP contract for 2025/26 in a bid to end the 8am scramble for appointments on the phone.
At the time, officials said the move would be âsubject to necessary safeguards in place to avoid urgent clinical requests being erroneously submitted onlineâ.
However, the BMA said these safeguards have not been put in place and no additional staff have been brought in to manage what it predicts to be a âbarrage of online requestsâ.
There are fears the change could lead to âhospital-style waiting lists in general practiceâ and âreduce face-to-face GP appointmentsâ, according to the union.
It said this could risk patient safety as staff try to find the most urgent cases, with fears that reviewing online requests will take up too much time.
Many surgeries already have a system that allows patients to request consultations online, with staff reviewing these and booking appointments accordingly.
However, according to the DHSC there is a lack of consistency, with some surgeries choosing to switch the function off in busier periods.
Last week, the BMA announced that its GP members had voted to go into dispute over the change.
Ahead of the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, the BMA has called on Wes Streeting to take action and avoid the dispute.
Dr Katie Bramall, BMA GP committee chairwoman, said: âWe agreed to these changes on the condition that ânecessary safeguardsâ would be put in place before Wednesday 1 October.
âThis was agreed â in writing â with Government, DHSC, and NHSE in February this year.
âNow almost eight months later, it is deeply disappointing to see promises broken. We have worked incredibly hard to rebuild the trust between our exhausted profession and the Government, but now what are Englandâs GPs and practice teams supposed to think?
âThe Secretary of State knows that when these changes come into effect it will likely lead to the creation of hospital-style waiting lists in general practice, reduce face-to-face GP appointments â as weâll be triaging a barrage of online requests, consequently putting patients at risk of harm as we try to find the urgent cases among the huge pile of unmet patient need thatâs out there.
âMr Streeting needs to listen to us and understand how we believe GPs can deliver his ambitions safely. General practice is the leader in NHS tech innovation, we do everything online from systems to prescriptions, referrals and appointments.
âWeâre not resistant to change but we will be when the safety of patients and practice staff is at risk. The Government has 48 hours to change course, avoid this dispute, and keep to their promises.â
Mr Streeting said: âIt is absurd that in 2025 many patients canât request appointments online. If you can book a hair appointment online, you should be able to book an NHS appointment too.
âMany GPs are already offering this service, and now it will be provided to patients across the country.
âThis move â which the BMA agreed to â will support GPs to care for their patients who need non-urgent care.
âWe have agreed clear safeguards, where patients will be directed to phone up or attend in person for urgent appointments. The BMA knows this.
âThis extra service for patients comes alongside extra investment in general practice as we deliver on our Plan for Change. Weâve invested an extra ÂŁ1.1 billion in general practice â the biggest increase in over a decade â and hired 2,000 extra GPs across England. Patient satisfaction with their GPs is on the up. We must work together to keep this momentum going.
âThis government will always put the interests of patients first, and we will not stand for our NHS being held back in the analogue age.â
