General practice leaders are seeking an urgent meeting with health secretary Matt Hancock over controversial orders to deliver more face to face appointments.

Mr Hancock earlier this week defended an NHS England letter, sent last week, apparently ordered practices to enable patients to book face to face appointments directly. It marked the end of “total triage”, the system backed during the pandemic enabling GPs and practice staff to assess patients by phone or video before seeing them.

Writing to Mr Hancock yesterday, British Medical Association GP committee chair Dr Richard Vautrey spoke of “the widespread anger, frustration and disappointment of the general workforce.” Dr Vautrey sought an urgent meeting with Mr Hancock, setting out a series of measures needed to rebuild confidence of GPs and their staff. He says the letter last week, signed by NHS director of primary care Dr Nikki Kanani, “shows a worrying disconnect with the reality facing general practice.”

Dr Vautrey went on: “Clinicians are delivering face to face appointments but can only do so when it is safe for our patients. Face to face consultations are at the heart of good general practice, but we need real and meaningful support to reduce the current unsustainable workload burden, rather than creating unrealistic expectations without the resources to deliver them.”

The BMA calls for a clear statement, from chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty, of when it will be safe to remove social distancing in practices – and for how long staff will be expected to use PPE for face to face consultations. It also calls for NHS 111 to stop directing routine queries to practices – and for funding to help practices improve ventilation and space. And it calls for improved mental wellbeing services for staff.

Dr Vautrey added: “Demand for services has increased significantly through use of additional means of patient communication, including e-consultations, alongside responding to vaccination, shielding and COVID-19 issues. GPs and their teams have worked tirelessly to meet this need, alongside delivering COVID-19 vaccinations quickly and effectively, which has brought benefit for the whole nation. However, they are now also tackling the huge NHS backlog, all while GP recruitment and retention is nowhere near the levels needed.”