england’s GP Surgeries Now Required to Offer Online Appointment Booking
From today, all GP surgeries in England are mandated to offer online appointment booking to patients, a move intended to modernize healthcare access and reduce the “barrage of online requests” currently overwhelming practices. The initiative, spearheaded by the government, aims to make scheduling appointments as convenient as ordering everyday services online.
the policy requires all practices to provide online booking options, though the British Medical Association (BMA) has voiced strong opposition, arguing it will exacerbate existing pressures on general practice. The BMA has stated GPs are considering a range of actions after voting to enter a dispute with the government over the plan. The government anticipates the initiative could provide up to 8.5 million additional NHS appointments within its first three years,available via the NHS app,allowing patients to schedule in-person procedures at local hospitals,surgical hubs or diagnostic centres.
health Secretary Wes Streeting has urged the BMA to embrace the plan, stating the union’s resistance is “a real disservice to so many GPs” who have already introduced the service. “Why shouldn’t be booking a GP appointment be as easy as booking a delivery,a taxi,or a takeaway?” he asked at the Labor Party conference.He added that the government will help practices needing assistance to implement the plan, emphasizing a need to “modernise.”
Streeting warned that yielding to “forces of conservatism” would turn the NHS into “a museum of 20th century healthcare.” The measure is part of a broader government pledge to transform the NHS, including Sir Keir Starmer’s plans to establish a nationwide “online hospital” by 2027, enabling patients to receive treatment and care from home.
