More Patients Now Contacting GPs Online, Data Shows

Published: 03 December 2025. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online

New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal a significant shift in the way people in England are reaching out to their GP surgeries. For the first time, a higher proportion of patients are now contacting their GPs online rather than by phone. Between 16 September and 9 October, just over 43% of people used online platforms to contact their GP, compared with 41% who used traditional phone calls. This marks a one-percentage-point rise in online use from the previous month, highlighting what officials say is a growing acceptance of digital health services.

The increase follows a government requirement that all NHS GP practices provide online booking systems from October. According to the Department of Health, more than eight million people used online consultation tools in October alone—a rise of 20% from the previous month—which ministers argue represents a major step forward in modernising primary care. Health Secretary Wes Streeting described the latest data as “a massive step” toward ending what he called the “8am scramble” for appointments, a long-criticised pinch point where patients found themselves competing for phone access as surgeries opened.

ONS data show that 43.3% of people contacted their GP online via the NHS app or through individual surgery websites during the three-week period surveyed. Under the new system, online appointment bookings must operate between 08:30 and 18:00, Monday to Friday. Nearly all GP practices now offer the service, which allows patients to seek non-urgent consultations, submit symptoms, ask questions and request call-backs.

NHS England says the shift demonstrates patient enthusiasm for more flexible access, arguing that online systems are making it easier and more convenient to reach medical professionals. But the shift has also ignited intense debate among healthcare leaders, with growing concerns about rising demand and patient safety.

The British Medical Association (BMA), which is currently in formal dispute with the government over the changes, warns that the rapid expansion of online access risks overwhelming GP practices already operating at full capacity. Dr David Wrigley, deputy chair of the BMA’s General Practice Committee for England, said the new system “has merely increased the potential for patient safety issues to arise,” arguing that current software does not adequately differentiate between routine and urgent requests. According to the BMA, this lack of triage capability could mean that critical cases go unnoticed among high volumes of routine queries.

Patients’ groups have also voiced unease. Healthwatch England reported that some individuals remain unaware that online systems should not be used for emergencies. They also noted examples of surgeries limiting online request windows to mornings and said that people who are less digitally skilled are struggling to navigate the process. Concerns about accessibility continue to shape the wider debate around NHS digital reforms, with some warning that technology could inadvertently deepen inequalities in access to care.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, the Health Secretary dismissed the BMA’s concerns, suggesting that some criticisms came from “moaning minnies” resistant to change. He insisted that most GPs have embraced the move and argued that acceptance of long-standing bottlenecks in the phone system implies an attitude that “if patients are out of sight, they are out of mind.” Streeting positioned the reforms as necessary for bringing the NHS into the modern era, saying it was “about time the NHS caught up with the rest of the 21st Century.”

But on the front lines, many GPs paint a more sobering picture. Jess Harvey, a GP from Shropshire and BMA member, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that surgeries are already “saturated and working at full capacity.” She acknowledged that GPs want to be responsive but warned that online systems have effectively become an “open floodgate” for requests. Without proper funding and staffing, she argued, the expectation that practices can meet a sudden surge in demand is “unrealistic,” and could compromise safe care. Any increase in workload, she added, must be matched with resources to process requests properly.

For many patients, however, the shift to online contact represents a welcome alternative to long phone queues and unpredictable appointment availability. Online forms allow patients to describe symptoms in their own time and avoid taking time off work to sit waiting in phone lines. Yet this convenience comes with its own challenges: more messages mean more triage work for already stretched surgeries.

While the government maintains that digital expansion is essential for relieving pressure on primary care, frontline clinicians argue that without additional support, the system may simply redistribute pressure rather than reduce it. As the dispute between ministers and medical leaders continues, the latest ONS data suggest that online GP contact is likely to grow further—raising important questions about how the NHS can modernise safely while ensuring that reforms do not leave vulnerable patients behind.

The rise of online consultation marks a significant turning point in the delivery of GP services in England. Whether it becomes a long-term success story or a new source of strain may depend on how policymakers respond to warnings from professionals and patient groups in the months ahead.