We need the primary care recovery plan as a matter of urgency

Responding to the latest data on GP appointments for March 2023, Ruth Rankine director of primary care at the NHS Confederation, said:

“Primary care continues to see more patients each month with 31.6 million appointments in the last month alone, over 4.3 million more appointments than in the previous month of February. 

“Out of the 1.37 million appointments per day in March, 71 per cent of them were delivered face-to-face which is nearly 10 per cent more than the same time last year. Of these, over 43 per cent of patients had an appointment on the same day and 83 per cent within two weeks.

“This is evidence, that despite the huge pressures, general practice continues to go above and beyond for their patients. We see the number of practices continuing to decline and these achievements are only possible through the existing workforce working harder than ever which is not sustainable.

“We therefore need the primary care recovery plan as a matter of urgency to understand the support that primary care will get to continue to deliver for their patients and retain the valuable workforce we already have.”