Online consultation changes have hit patient care, finds BMA

More than half of GP practices say that changes to online access had an adverse impact on patient care and staff, according to a British Medical Association (BMA) survey.

Changes to the GP contract, which came into effect on 1 October 2025, require GP practices to keep their online consultation tools running throughout core hours, allowing patients to request appointments, ask questions and describe symptoms.

However the BMA has called for safeguards to be implemented to prevent GP practices being overwhelmed, such as finding  IT solutions that work for patients and practitioners, allowing practices to flexibility suspend online triage and increasing practice resources to manage online requests beyond the end of core hours.

A BMA survey, responded to by more than 1,300 GP practices, found that 55% of respondents had seen a negative effect on patient care since the changes, while 74% said they’d seen an increase in workload, 68% reported an increase in stress, and 54% said there was an increase in working hours.

Also, 73% of practices said that they have had to change their ways of working and 42% of practices have reduced face-to-face appointments, with 45% redeploying staff to accommodate the changes.

Dr Katie Bramall, BMA GP committee chair, said: “If the government had chosen to listen to us and work with us, we could have made this so much more of a success.

“There is still ample opportunity for Wes Streeting to engage with us and help rebuild general practice, which would transform the NHS experience for the 1.5 million patients who use it every day.”

She added that GPs will “continue to comply with the changes under protest, whilst exploring all options on how best to deliver transformative and safe change for general practice in England”.

In response, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) told Digital Health News that the survey only represents a small minority of GP practices and is not reflective of the national picture.

A spokesperson for DHSC said: “Online booking for GP appointments is a service patients want and rightly expect in the 21^st century, and we have worked collaboratively with the sector to successfully roll this out at practices across the country.

“These changes are giving patients faster and more convenient access to the care as we deliver on our pledge to beat the 8am rush, with ONS data showing there are now more patients contacting their GP practice online than by phone.

“And as well as supporting patients, we are boosting general practice with an extra £1.1 billion, recruiting 2,500 more GPs and cutting red tape, as well as launching a review into the distribution of funding – placing them at the heart of our 10 year health plan.”

At the England Local Medical Committees conference in November 2025, a motion was passed for GPs to refuse online access compliance, for online access to be curtailed when safe working limits have been reached and to demand the removal of the government mandate.

Digital Health News contacted NHS England for comment.