GP teams in the East of England delivered more than 3.5 million appointments for patients last month (March 2024), up by more than a quarter on the same period before the pandemic, latest data shows.

New NHS figures show there were 3,505,496 appointments delivered by the region’s GPs and their teams in just one month, compared with 2,757,882 in March 2019 – an increase of almost 750,000 (27.1%).

And on average, thanks to the primary care recovery plan, the NHS in the East of England is now offering over 175,000 GP appointments every working day.

Nationally, NHS staff continue to exceed ambitions to provide 50 million more appointments in England by March 2024 with the figures showing that across the country GPs and their teams have delivered an extra 56.3 million appointments (363.6 million excluding Covid vaccinations) or 63.4 million (370.7 million including Covid vaccinations) over the last year compared to 2018/19.

Every GP practice must offer face-to-face appointments as well as telephone and online consultations, with some patients choosing remote appointments where it is clinically appropriate and more convenient for them. Latest data shows more than two-thirds of appointments took place face-to-face (69.6%) in March.

Adam Cayley, Regional Chief Operating Officer for the NHS in the East of England said: “It’s great news that thanks to the hard work of our GPs and their teams, hundreds of thousands of extra appointments are available every month compared to before the pandemic, meaning more people are getting the care they need, when they need it.

“We’re committed to building on this progress to make access to an appointment even easier, through upgrades to GP practices’ telephone systems and other steps outlined in the primary care access recovery plan. This will help modernise general practice, expand pharmacy services, and offer patients more choice in how they access care.”

Across the country, hundreds of thousands more people a month will have the option to refer themselves for key services such as help with incontinence, podiatry, or hearing tests without needing to see a GP, as part of the NHS primary care access recovery plan.

Nationally, around 180,000 more people a month will be able to self-refer for additional services, such as incontinence support or community nursing without seeing their GP, so family doctors’ time can be freed up to focus on delivering care to people who need it most.

Across NHS services, around 200,000 people a month already self-refer themselves for treatment for podiatry, audiology, and physiotherapy but local services will now be able to expand the option of self-referral to other key services based on the needs of their population.

Patients can also use the NHS App to order repeat prescriptions and view their test results without needing to contact their GP practice.

Notes to editors;

• All data can be found here: Appointments in General Practice – NHS England Digital
• For more details, please contact england.eastcommunications@nhs.net