Millions of people are
using online consultation requests to contact their GP practice
each month, as the NHS gives people more choice in how they can
safely contact their family doctor.
New figures show 6.5 million online consultation requests were
submitted to GPs in September 2025, up half compared to the same
period last year [4.4 million in September 2024].
From October 1, every GP practice in England has been required to
keep their online consultation platform open for the duration of
their working hours for non-urgent appointment requests,
medication queries, and admin requests.
One GP practice in Sheffield said the move has “obliterated the
8am rush” of people ringing their practice each morning
and freed up phone lines for patients with the most urgent
clinical needs.
People needing to see a GP more urgently can continue to call or
drop into their local practice.
GP practices continue to offer face-to-face appointments, with
20.1 million delivered in September 2025.
Recent ONS figures found the most popular way for patients to
contact GP practices was online - beating phone calls for the
first time.
Dr Amanda Doyle, NHS England's national director for
primary care and community services,
said:
“We know how frustrating it is for patients and practices when
people are unable to get through on the phone to their practice,
particularly first thing in the morning.
“That's why we've upgraded thousands of GP telephone systems and
started to offer more modern options such as submitting their
initial request online to fit around people's busy lives –
freeing up phone lines for the most urgent cases in the
process.
“And we're starting to see the positive impact this is having
with seven in ten adults saying it was easy to get through to
their practice, up from six in ten in 2024.
“While more GPs are telling us that it has made their lives so
much easier by making online consultation requests available to
patients.”
Secretary of
State said:
"This data is crystal clear: more patients are seeking GP
appointments online - even before the requirement came into place
on 1 October. In the 21st century, patients
expect the ease, convenience and flexibility of managing their
healthcare online.
“We are grateful to the majority of practices who have been
delivering this service successfully.
“For too long patients have been held hostage by our outdated,
analogue system of the 8am scramble on phone lines causing
stress, difficulty and long waits to get through and get
appointments.
“Patients want this change and we're delivering it – we've put in
£1.1 billion extra funding, provided the support, and now it's
time for the few lagging practices to get on board, move with the
times, and provide the service patients deserve.”
People can contact their
practice by phone, walk-ins and now via online consultations –
with digital access proving popular with busy
families.
Almost every GP practice in England has also upgraded their
telephone systems so that people can easily contact their
GP.
NHS support is available for any practices struggling to meet the
GP contract requirement that from 1 October 2025 patients should
be able to make online requests during practice opening
hours.
Steel City practice in Sheffield ended its 8am rush for
appointments thanks to its online consultation
system.
Josie Matthews, the Practice Business Manager at Steel
City in Sheffield, said: “It's obliterated the 8am
rush, having all this digital help, it's fantastic. It's helped
get around the issue of people having to ring first thing in the
morning to secure an appointment and then call back the next day
if none were available.
“It's also useful for communicating with patients because it's
secure and quick. For example, if a patient contacts us about a
rash their child has, we can ask them to send a photo of it and
then the GP can review it and make an immediate judgement on
whether they need to come in or urgently go to a
hospital.
Dr Krishna Kasaraneni, GP Partner at the Sheffield
specialist GP training practice, said: “We've
focused our improvements on access. By that I mean the patients
who need the most support can get it
easily.”
Steel City turned on its online consultation system over two
years to enhance its service for patients and offer them the
choice of multiple access routes, walk in, telephone and online.
All requests are dealt with using the same approach so that
patients are treated the same regardless of how they have made
contact.
