BHWC Consultations

In light of the current political and media furore about GP appointments the practice has analysed our consultation data in detail to show what is happening in reality and dispel any myths.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on consultation statistics can be considered by comparing data in 2019 to 2021. National guidance forced primary care to convert consultations to a remote triage from the start of the pandemic. From July 2021 the lockdown and restrictions ceased, and the practice moved to allowing patients a choice of face to face or telephone appointments.

Table 1: Table of consultation data – face-to-face and telephone appointments comparing 2019 & 2021

	FACE TO FACE 2019	FACE TO FACE 2021	CHANGE	TELEPHONE 2019	TELEPHONE 2021	CHANGE	TOTAL 2019	TOTAL 2021	CHANGE
JANUARY	4944	2627	-46.9%	2880	4610	60.1%	7824	7237	-7.5%
FEBRUARY	4523	2674	-40.9%	2722	4518	66.0%	7245	7192	-0.7%
MARCH	4651	3663	-21.9%	2739	5473	99.8%	7390	9136	23.6%
APRIL	4607	3199	-30.6%	2674	5057	89.1%	7281	8256	13.4%
MAY	4465	3297	-26.2%	2796	5170	84.9%	7261	8467	16.6%
JUNE	4176	3811	-8.7%	2566	5720	122.9%	6742	9531	41.4%
JULY	4829	3782	-21.7%	2921	5454	86.7%	7750	9236	19.2%
AUGUST	3985	3724	-6.5%	2877	4760	65.5%	6862	8484	23.6%
SEPTEMBER	4231	3885	-8.2%	2853	5593	96.0%	7084	9478	33.8%
OCTOBER	5198	NA	NA	3493	NA	NA	8691	NA	NA
NOVEMBER	4692	NA	NA	3317	NA	NA	8009	NA	NA
DECEMBER	4228	NA	NA	3260	NA	NA	7488	NA	NA
TOTAL	54529	30662	-23.5%	35098	46355	85.7%	89627	77017	18.2%

From these statistics there are several trends that can be identified using data up to the end of September 2021.

During January and February there is an obvious significant drop in the face-to-face appointments and a clear rise in telephone consultations due to the effect of the pandemic.

Face-to-face appointments dropped before the pandemic (2019) and currently (2021) by 23.5% and the numbers of telephone appointments increased by 85.7% which would naturally be expected during the pandemic timeline. The total number of available contacts (face-to-face and telephone) in fact increased by 18.2%. This figure is significantly above the national 5-10% increase reported by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP).

Comparing data from June to September in both years there has been an approximate 8% reduction in face-to-face appointments but an 83% increase in telephone appointment availability. Additionally, the RCGP reported that in the first two weeks of September 2021 administrative workload increased by one-third and a 6% increase in GP contacts.

The Government has requested primary care offers face-to-face appointments at the same level as pre-pandemic rates, so this is clear evidence that BHWC is practically fulfilling this pronouncement as well as increasing capacity tremendously for patients to contact us. This is partly possible due to the availability of additional professionals at the practice – Pharmacists, First Contact Practitioners (Physiotherapists), Mental Health Worker, Health Promotion Practitioner, and Social Prescribers.

The clinical team comprising GPs, Nurse Practitioners, Advanced Nurse Practitioners, Practice Nurses, Health Care Assistants and Pharmacists are working incredibly hard to provide all of this in a dynamic way, noting that these statistics reflect actual patient demand responsively rather than providing a fixed number of appointments, so if there is more illness, there is more demand which is provided.

Interesting primary care facts and opinions:

GPs provide 90% of NHS contacts with only 10% of the total NHS budget.
GPs are cheap and effective as a foundation within the NHS: lose GPs and the NHS will fail is commonly.
GPs are independent contractors to provide NHS primary care so this means your GP can be creative and dynamic to provide tailored services and innovate new approaches to problems and care delivery appropriate to the practice and locality demands – BHWC has developed many innovative approaches to healthcare.
The NHS has experienced an average 6-8% annual increase in GP appointment demand.
NHS Digital has reported an increase in patient GP registrations by approximately 724,000 people in the year leading up to October 2021.
GPs were solely involved with setting up and providing the initial COVID-19 vaccination service without any additional support using existing staff and resources on top of having to provide ongoing primary care services.
Many GPs who work in primary care practices also work in the out of hours services.
The numbers of GPs have been steadily going down – the British Medical Association (BMA) states that there are 1,803 fewer GPs now compared to 2015 despite the Government promise to increase the numbers of GPs by 6,000 by the end of 2024.

The Government’s NHS Long Term Plan is focussing on improving access by including a variety of healthcare professionals to support doctors in both primary and secondary care as well as increasing the use of technology to support healthcare.

Further information:

GP Patient Survey (BHWC)

GP Patient Survey (National)

Both show positive practice and primary care information and patient feedback bolstering and reinforcing the reality of working in primary care in the current times.