Elderly people are giving up getting help from GPs after struggling to get through on the phone, ministers have been warned.
Just half of patients now find it easy to reach their family doctor’s surgery on the phone, analysis reveals.
The Government has vowed to tackle the “8am scramble”, which means growing numbers of patients are struggling to get care.
But many surgeries are pushing online booking systems, which vulnerable patients are struggling to navigate.
Analysis of the nationwide GP survey of 760,000 people shows less than half of people find it easy to contact their local practice by telephone.
One in eight unable to speak to anyone at all
Trends show that the number dipped to less than half for the first time in 2023, with 49.8 per cent of respondents finding it “easy” to contact their local practice by telephone.
The figure has fallen from 80.8 per cent since 2012.
While the methodology has since changed, this year’s data show an almost identical figure of 49.7 per cent.
One in eight patients contacting a GP practice were unable to speak to anyone at all, the latest research shows.
The 2024 data show thousands of people who got stuck in an automated system, or gave up after failing to get an answer, or being left in a queue.
On Thursday, an independent investigation into the NHS found that the service was failing the elderly at a vital moment.
Lord Darzi, a leading academic surgeon, said he was “deeply concerned” about the treatment of the elderly, saying: “After a lifetime of contributing to the NHS, they rightly expected it to be there for them in their hour of need. But the NHS is no longer able to hold up its end of the bargain.”
During the pandemic, the NHS introduced a system of “total triage” to reduce the number of patients seen in person.
Since then, family doctors have been told that they must respect patients wishes if they want to see a doctor face-to-face.
The latest contract for GPs, which came into force in April, says GP practices must allow to book an appointment over the phone or by walking in, if they wish to.
However, patients groups said this is frequently ignored, with websites heavily promoting the use of online systems, and receptionists instructing those who walk in that they must book online.
Dr Chaand Nagpaul, a practising GP and former chairman of the British Medical Association, said far too many surgeries were forcing patients to use online systems.
He said: “No one should be forced to use the digital route. There are far too many GP practices that are making it compulsory for patients to use online triage, or in some cases saying that if they can’t, they have to dictate details to a receptionist to go through the system.”
“If we have a ‘digital first’ policy for the NHS, then you make it the default setting, and that excludes people; that is just not right. That goes against the values of the NHS.”
‘Older lady says she dreads online booking system’
Caroline Abrahams, director of charity Age UK, said: “We have heard of experiences of older people completely giving up with seeking treatment as they can’t get the systems to work for them.
“There is an increasing risk of digital being the default in too many spaces in society at the moment, and there needs to be careful consideration into how it’s working in practice and ensuring that it is not the only way to access vital services for older people.”
“Recently, we heard from an older lady who dreads becoming ill as her GP Surgery now has an online booking system for appointments and she doesn’t use computers.
“She told us she feels quite abandoned. We cannot have a system where older people who are offline are locked out of the care they need.
“Shutting older people out of services if they are not online is a flagrant and grotesque breach of the right of everyone in our country to have equal access to the NHS. It has to stop.”
Dr Adrian Boyle, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said: “I worry about digital exclusion. This is not just about the elderly, it is about a lot of people, those with mental health problems, those with learning disabilities, many people who are vulnerable in some way.
“For patients in the early stages of dementia, trying to remember passwords and navigate systems can prove a major barrier.
“We are increasingly moving to a digital system which is a good thing for the population at large.
“But this needs a very careful transition. You have to have the capacity for someone to talk to a human.”
Just 8 per cent of patients at the Your Health Partnership group of practices in the West Midlands said they found it easy to contact their GP by phone.
Yet over 90 per cent of patients in the Oxford Central GP described the experience of calling their local practice in this way.
Meanwhile, almost three quarters of patients in Holderness GP network said they were unable to get through to a person, either hanging up or requesting a callback via an automated message.
‘Risk of unequal service for patients’
Rachel Power, the chief executive of the Patients Association, said: “Data from a range of resources show the same thing – many patients find it difficult to get in touch with their GP practice.
“The 8am rush to get an appointment seems to have been replaced for many with having to complete an online form to get an appointment.”
She added: “Practices which have moved to exclusively using online appointment booking are not complying with their contract with the NHS and are risking creating an unequal service for their patients.”
An NHS England spokesman said: “GP teams are working incredibly hard to see increasing numbers of patients and a recent survey found nine out of 10 patients said their needs were met at their last appointment, but these findings make clear there is more to do to improve patients’ satisfaction and experience in accessing primary care services.
“Practices are contractually obliged to allow patients to walk in, phone or go online to make appointments and if this is not possible local commissioners should support practices to address this, while every GP practice must offer face-to-face as well as telephone and online appointments – with around six in 10 appointments taking place in person.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “The NHS is broken and it is unacceptable that so many patients can’t easily book appointments with their GP.
“We are hiring an extra 1,000 GPs into the NHS by cutting red tape, and will modernise the way people book GP appointments so we can end the 8am scramble.
“This government is committed to fixing the front door to the NHS and we have provided a further £311 million towards GP contract funding in 2024-25. We will ensure GPs have the resources they need to offer patients the highest quality care.”
