GP access impeded by national systems, study finds

National systems designed to make booking GP appointments more accessible for patients are having the opposite effect, a study has found.

The research, led by the Universities of Southampton and Oxford, found that "persistent tinkering" to booking systems was confusing and frustrating for patients.

It comes as GP surgeries are delivering more consultations than ever before - with more than 367 million appointments fulfilled in 2024.

Helen Atherton, the study's co-lead, said systems were currently managed "top-down", which "does not necessarily take account of what people want and need".

"A better approach would be to allow individual general practices to do what works for their population," she said.

The study involved in depth research in eight GP practices across England.

It found that blanket nationwide policies left surgeries "constantly tinkering and amending their access systems to try to make them work for their patients".

Prof Atherton, who is based at the University of Southampton, explained that blanket policies take staff away from "doing other things that may be more pressing or effective".

"Everything that is put in place to improve access is actually creating more work and challenging what practices are able to do," she said.

The study also questioned why access to GP appointments was "exclusively focused on managing demand, rather than providing access".

Study co-lead, prof Catherine Pope, from the University of Oxford, said: "Practices tend to view patients as a big group of people all demanding access, but they are of course individuals with individual health concerns."

"General practices may need to challenge their thinking about patient needs and wants in relation to access and consider how they can humanise a process that has become complex and technical."

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