To ask the Minister of Health (i) to detail the advice given to GP practices in relation to the number of patients that are currently being seen either in person or via a phone consultation; and (ii) for his assessment of the current supply and demand of GP appointments.

GPs are independent contractors who contract with the Health and Social Care Board to provide primary medical services to their patients. As independent contractors, GPs are responsible for the management of their appointment system.

I want to emphasise that primary care services are working to make best use of available resources for everyone who is seeking to access the care that they need. GP practices are open and providing both face to face appointments and alternative consultation options for patients as appropriate.

The general practice telephone first consultation allows patients to seek timely medical advice from their GP for both routine and urgent problems. The GP determines the most appropriate approach to safely addressing the patient’s needs using their clinical expertise. The GP decides, based on their assessment, if a face to face appointment is appropriate, if the patient can be managed over the telephone or if they should be signposted or directed to other appropriate services. This approach helps the GP to appropriately manage, treat and support the large number of people who seek clinical support and advice from primary care practitioners.

The extent to which primary care was already facing considerable pressures prior to the pandemic was clear. Figures in 2019 indicated patient contacts were almost 15 million per year up from an estimated 12.7 million in 2014.

Even before having to cope with the strain of a sustained pandemic situation, the need for transformation of primary care was already recognised. Initiatives such as the Multi-Disciplinary Team Programme, the introduction of Advanced Nurse Practitioners and additional General Practice Nurses were already making a difference to how services are delivered in primary care. Investment in technology, including telephony, was also assisting General Practice to meet growing demand.

The development of this mixed approach to delivering primary care services has been ongoing since 2016, so is not a new concept. In 2016, the report of the GP-led Care Review Working Group concluded that GP-led services could not continue to meet rising demand and expectations without urgent action to address the pressures facing the service. The report set out a vision for future GP-led services which noted that technology will play a much greater part in the delivery of primary care services.

Primary Care’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the implementation of new and innovative ways of working that were already ongoing to enable General Practice, along with all other areas within the health and social care system, to react quickly and adapt flexibly to the demands and challenges of the pandemic. Despite the demands and capacity limits that COVID has created, GPs have maintained all of the core elements of general practice services.

The use of more innovative ways of working, including telephone and video consultations, is now widely embedded and the model of Primary Care will continue to transform to meet growing patient demand with technology and new ways of working playing an important role alongside existing arrangements, such as face to face appointments, which will continue to be available to GPs to safely manage patient care.