The issue with same-day appointments

What can we expect from same-day GP appointments in the future?

CREDIT: This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared on Ockham

More than ever, it seems patients are facing issues obtaining a face-to-face GP appointment. The public nature of this issue has put the general practice at the top of the government’s priority list.

Many believe the notion that emergency departments are struggling because patients cannot see their GPs pervades integrated care system (ICS) thinking; ICSs now need to ensure that ‘something is done’ about this issue.

Primary care networks (PCNs) are planning to outline a single model for the delivery of extended access across each PCN from October. The guarantee of the same daycare will be added to the PCNs. The third part will be to give responsibility for out-of-hours care to the PCN and, therefore, responsibility for 24-hour delivery of urgent primary care in their areas.

PCNs, meanwhile, will most likely fall much more under the remit of ICSs. While many areas are working on plans for extended access that minimise disruption for practices, the same approach is not going to work for in-hours appointments where many practices are not able to offer same-day appointments – GP capacity is insufficient and, therefore, the approach must involve the patients of individual practices being seen in PCN ‘hubs’ or by other practices.

Some people view this as an unacceptable move away from the core model of general practice. This new model creates limits on where continuity of care is required and splits urgent access away from the traditional model. For others, it presents the possibility of welcome relief from the incessant demands on practices.

Many PCNs have found getting agreement across practices on extended access challenging, and the possibility of doing it on the same day (and potentially out-of-hours) seems impossible. It is sensible for practices to start thinking about this issue and planning what they want for the future of the service and their surgeries.