General practice continues to work under “intense pressure,” professional leaders have warned after the latest appointment data delivered a mixed picture of activity.

Practices in England recorded 25,555,604 appointments in January, according to NHS Digital, nearly 500,000 more than in December.In January last year practices recorded just 22 million appointments but in January 2020 they recorded more than 27 million appointments.Some 15.4 million appointments in January were face to face compared with 19 million in November.

Royal College of GPs vice-chair Dr Gary Howsam defended the continued use of remote consulting.He said: “As we move out of the pandemic, it is right that patients are able to access GP care and services in a variety of ways, based on their health needs and preferences – this has long been the College’s position. Many patients will prefer to see their GP in person, but many also find remote consulting convenient and effective, and we know that good, safe and appropriate care can be delivered remotely. As we move out of the pandemic, it is right that patients are able to access GP care and services in a variety of ways, based on their health needs and preferences – this has long been the College’s position. Many patients will prefer to see their GP in person, but many also find remote consulting convenient and effective, and we know that good, safe and appropriate care can be delivered remotely.”

Dr Kieran Sharrock, deputy chair of the British Medical Association’s GP committee, said: “Month on month, appointment figures continue to highlight the ever-increasing demand on GPs and their teams, as they continually go above and beyond for their communities, delivering more standard appointments last month than in December. GPs are working harder than ever with a finite number of resources. As well as delivering routine appointments, we are still caring for those with Covid, supporting the vulnerable, and working through the enormous backlog of care that’s built up during the pandemic. What’s more, the majority of our appointments remain face-to-face (60%) – something GPs often prefer. Alongside this, there has been an expected increase in the number of telephone consultations due to record-high levels of Covid circulating in January.”

He added: “Limitations on the data available mean we don’t know enough about activity and workload in general practice. Data about appointments, prescriptions, pathology requests and referrals provide some insight but have constraints.”

Dr Peter Short, clinical lead for primary care at NHS Digital, explained: “We are mindful this data only represents a part of the workload undertaken by General Practice, and does not yet cover all systems and settings. The very flexible nature of appointment modules along with how they are used and configured to meet the differing needs, means that much further work with the profession is needed to improve the utility, consistency and coverage. However, we are committed to working with the profession to progress this work to ensure continual refinements that benefit both individual practices and the wider service planning agenda.”