A promised “recovery” plan for general practice is likely to contain aspects of the controversial new contract imposed on the profession this year, it has been revealed.

A key component of the plan will be improving “access to GP appointments”, NHS England chief strategy officer Chris Hopson said yesterday. This will include the introduction of cloud-based telephone systems.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4, he said: “There are some specific proposals to actually deal with the 8am rush. If you actually look at GP surgeries across the country, there are still far too many that are on analogue phone systems, which means you can’t queue, which means you can’t call back when you need to. So one of the things we will be setting out is how we address those kinds of issues”.

The new contract, rejected by the British Medical Association, requires practices to deal with patients on their first call, either booking an appointment or signposting them elsewhere. The BMA and the Royal College of GPs say extra doctors and extra funding are crucial to the proposed recovery plan.

Speaking earlier this week RCGP chair Professor Kamila Hawthorne said: “The forthcoming primary care recovery plan and long-awaited NHS workforce plan will be key opportunities to do this, and we hope they will deliver what is needed to reverse public opinion. Ultimately, we need to see a bold new plan from the Government that goes beyond the target of 6,000 more GPs it pledged in its election manifesto, as well as significant investment in GP practices and IT systems to make it easier for patients to access care. Government must also take steps to cut bureaucracy so that GPs have more time to deliver care to the growing numbers of patients who need it.”