As of today, GP surgeries in England must enable patients to book appointments online, yet this initiative has highlighted the disjointed state of the ‘digital NHS’.
Patients can now request callback appointments between 8am and 6.30pm from Monday to Friday for medical concerns. Additionally, they can submit forms for non-urgent needs like repeat prescriptions and vaccinations.
The move is meant to put paid to the ‘8am scramble’ for urgent appointments that have become a part of everyday life in Britain.
However, this rollout might pose challenges for Health Secretary Wes Streeting, as numerous patients have voiced their frustrations on social media about the inability to make appointments. A review of various systems by the Daily Mail this morning revealed inconsistent outcomes.
‘I see the Online GP appointments booking is going well,’ said one user on X, formerly Twitter, sharing a screenshot of a website error page.
Many GP practices have offered online forms for years, though some switched them off at peak times – no longer allowed under the new scheme.
The irregularity within the ‘digital NHS’ allows GP surgeries to use a variety of booking software, resulting in varying user experiences. Platforms used include Airmid, Accurx, and Anima.
One X user expressed their frustration, mentioning, ‘Two very stressed in-laws on the phone last night desperately trying to work out how to register and log into Anima to get a GP appointment.’
The rocky rollout of digital GP booking services today could prove a headache for Health Secretary Wes Streeting
The system is intended to let individuals fill out a form to request a callback from their GP for an appointment. However, some systems reported no availability today.
Another system reviewed by the Mail this morning said our request for an appointment would be reviewed within five working days
They added: ‘I’d never heard of it until last night.. so the gold standard solution for no appointments is to exclude those that need them most.’
One booking system reviewed by the Daily Mail today simply said that no appointments were available.
Another allowed us to request a callback and returned the message: ‘Your request will be reviewed within five working days.’
One patient who tried to book today found they could not do so, as they did not have access to their GP’s system, which is powered by Airmid.
‘Filed at the first hurdle – I don’t have a username and password. If I hit “forgotten my password”, it asks for my username, which I don’t have,’ they said.
‘So, that’s it. I have no way to log in. It says “For any further questions or assistance, contact your practice”, which seems to defeat the point.
‘Luckily, I can book appointments via the NHS app which means I don’t need to use this.’
Another who attempted to register for their GP surgery’s Anima platform received the message: ‘Sorry, we were unable to verify your details. Your practice has been informed and they will manually verify you themselves using your patient record.’
However, one south London practice vowed to call back within four hours of receiving a request for an assessment.
Urgent health problems can still be dealt with by phone, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said today.
The plans have been opposed by the British Medical Association (BMA), which warned that serious health problems could be missed by GPs carrying out ‘online triage’ instead of in-person assessments.
Doctors have threatened to work-to-rule – but ministers say they have provided enough financial backing to support surgeries in rolling out the initiative.
They also point out that the BMA agreed to the change in April as part of reforms made by the government to the GP contract.
But the medical union said it only agreed to the changes on the grounds that ‘necessary safeguards’ would be implemented before today – a promise it says has not been fulfilled.
GP practices use a variety of different digital platforms to handle appointments, such as Airmid (above)
An error message given to one patient today after they tried to register for a digital account with their GP practice on the Anima platform
Some of those who tried book callbacks today reported mixed results – with claiming they were unable to access their GP’s booking system at all
Its GP committee chair Dr Katie Bramall said on Monday: ‘We agreed to these changes on the condition that ‘necessary safeguards’ would be put in place before Wednesday 1st October.
‘This was agreed – in writing – with Government, DHSC, and NHSE in February this year. Now 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 England’s GPs and practice teams supposed to think?’
The BMA vowed to write to Health Secretary Wes Streeting today to formally dispute the rollout if it was not cancelled. It was contacted for further comment.
Announcing the plans today, Care Minister Stephen Kinnock said: ‘We promised to tackle the 8am scramble and make it easier for patients to access their GP practice – and through our Plan for Change, that’s exactly what we’re delivering.’
He added on a visit to a GP practice ahead of the launch: ‘People are using online systems all the time. They’re doing their banking online, so there’s absolutely no reason why the NHS and general practice shouldn’t be part of that journey.’
