There were one million more GP practice appointments available to patients in the South East in March this year compared to March 2019 (pre-pandemic) recent NHS figures reveal.

There were 4.5m appointments with health care professionals offered last month compared to 3.5m in March 2019 – an increase of 29%. Of the 4.5m appointments last month, 2.2m were with GPs.

Today’s announcement comes on a day which marks the first year anniversary of NHS England’s and Department of Health and Social Care’s (DHSC) Delivery plan for recovering access to primary care being launched nationally, which continues to bring about positive change.

Nearly every general practice in the South East has now switched from analogue lines to digital telephony with many of them  offering online consultations as one of the ways to contact the practice.

The changes make it easier for patients to request help and for practices to respond. Those who are confident to do so can use online forms to request help, while those who prefer to call their practice and are placed in a queue can choose to receive a call back.

In the South East, nearly 4,000 additional staff have been recruited into healthcare roles at general practices since 2019, making it more convenient for people to get the help they need from general practice primary care services, and ensuring they are seen by the right health professional – whether that’s a GP, nurse, physio or mental health practitioner – at the right time, in a way that’s right for them.

Dr Tim Caroe, Medical Director, Primary Care Transformation for NHS England South East Region – and a GP in Eastbourne – said: “Record numbers of people are seeking support from their GP practice and a significant number of additional appointments are being offered now compared to pre-pandemic times.

“To help people get the right help from the right person, we are providing special care navigation training to reception teams. This training helps teams to ask patients about the problems they may be having to direct them to the right health professional in the team, such as mental health professionals, physios, and pharmacists. This means that people can get the specialist help they need without needing to see a GP first. This helps them get the right care more easily and quickly, and frees up GPs to deal with patient care  that need their particular expertise.

“People can still walk into their surgeries to get help, but we are also investing in improving telephone and online systems so people can easily contact their surgery in a way that suits them.”

Many patients have welcomed the new ways of accessing their local practice.

Local resident Matthew Stacey, of Hythe, Kent said: “My previous experience of contacting the practice was via telephone and for me, calling the practice was problematic due to working full time so it was difficult to get the care I needed. My recent experience of the Primary Care Network Hub service was that it was convenient and time-saving as I was able to submit an online consultation in the evening at a time convenient for me. The system was easy to use, and I received a response to my query the morning of the next day and had an appointment that afternoon. I would highly recommend the service to other people. This improved access has changed the way I now contact my practice as it has helped me better manage my health.”

Dr Aravinth Balachandran, Clinical Director, Folkestone, Hythe and Rural Primary Care Network (PCN) said: “Working in this way means we can offer a more consistent level of care across our seven practices, while the additional services delivered by the hub mean that patients are being seen by the right professional for them.

“We handle around 4,500 online consultations per month in the hub and provide more than 2,200 additional face-to-face appointments for patients, including both the minor illness appointments delivered by our nurse practitioners and other services provided by a team of health professionals – ensuring patients receive the most appropriate care for their condition as quickly as possible.”