GP telephone and video appointments in Leeds up by almost 500,000 during Covid

Statistics released by Leeds Clinical Commissioning Group reveal the scale of the shift to a new way of working at 94 GP practices over 130 sites in Leeds.

Telephone and video appointments increased by 473,260 when comparing figures for October 2019 to March 2020 and March to August 2020.

Between October 2019 and March 2020 there were 356,117 video and telephone GP appointments, compared to 829,377 between March and August this year.

However, there are still more face to face appointments as opposed to video and telephone appointments taking place at GP practices across Leeds.

More than half of the 320,000 plus GP appointments in Leeds in August were face to face visits, figures released by Leeds Clinical Commissioning Group show.

A total of 177,180 August appointments were face to face with the majority of the remaining 143,660 appointments being offered over the telephone or by video consultation.

GP practices in Leeds have stayed open during the pandemic, but there have been big changes in the way patients are seen to protect staff and patients from the virus.

Practices have had to change the way they provide services to ensure that stringent infection prevention and control measures are in place, including social distancing.

GP practices will initially support patients remotely and then see them face to face or at home if needed.

Doctors appointments in Leeds fell by more than 100,000 at the height of lockdown.

There were 275,000 appointments made at the city’s 94 GP practices for April this year, compared to 380,000 for April 2019.

And of that, nearly 50 per cent of those 275,000 appointments were carried out over the phone or by video call. In April 2019 the comparative figure for that was just 13 per cent.

A spokesperson for NHS Leeds Clinical Commissioning Group, said: "Generally, appointments are returning to the levels seen before lockdown.

"Patients can access practice services through their website, NHS111, the NHS App or by phone.

"We are aware that some patients are having difficulty getting through on the phone because of the sheer volume of calls practices are receiving.

"If they’re able to, we’d encourage patients to check their practice website and use online forms as an alternative to phoning if they don’t need urgent help.

"This will free up phone lines for people who need an urgent appointment or who don’t have internet access.

"We will continue to evaluate online services so we can understand the experience of patients, especially those who may not be able to access them.

"Practices are also finding innovativen ways to safely provide face to face care.

"For example, drive through flu vaccination clinics and work with vulnerable people such as the outreach service for homeless people.

"So despite the challenge coronavirus presents, GP practices in Leeds continue to provide high quality, safe patient care."

GP appointments during the Covid-10 pandemic was one of the topics covered in the Yorkshire Evening Post's Big Conversation survey of readers.

In the survey launched in September, readers had their say on the biggest issues affecting them and Leeds during the pandemic.

One question was: 'In which of the following ways would you like to be able to access advice from a GP in the coming months?'

Of the dozens of people that answered, 59 per cent said 'telephone', 85 per cent said 'in person' and 39 per cent said 'video call.'

JPI Media titles throughout the country asked questions of readers to find out what has changed since lockdown - and what the new society which emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic should look like to benefit us all.

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