Investigative finds by GPonline has revealed that as much as 80% of ICBs are affected by the replacement of face to face consultations to online consultations.
The BMA has called to limit the workload as these general practices can be short staffed or had reached full capacity. A freedom of information request has revealed that between the 1st October to the 12th November an estimated 64% of ICBs raised concerns over the workload faced and the compromised patient safety.
On October, BMA GP Committee suggested practices could contact their respective ICBs if they were struggling with the workload. The union provided a template letter that practices could use when contacting the ICBs. The letter states as;
‘We do not agree with the manner in which these changes have been implemented. Please note that our practice is therefore working under protest. Our concerns are around the potential risks to patient safety, particularly in relation to online consultation tools, where the absence of robust safeguards may lead to inappropriate use or misclassification of urgent clinical needs.
Continuous online consultation tools being switched on throughout core hours: the BMA England GP committee has made clear that necessary safeguards around managing online consultation requests are not in place.’
A recent BMA poll revealed that 55% of practices admit that patient care is negatively affected by online consultation changes. GPonline has previously reported that patients can wait for upto a month and there is also currently no availability when it comes to a patient seeking to report an urgent query!
Source: GPonline, Unsplash
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