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Written question asked by Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat) on Friday, 29 May 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 2 June 2026. It was answered by Stephen Kinnock (Labour) on Wednesday, 8 July 2026 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

General Practitioners: Telemedicine

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of removing limits on the number of requests using the online consultation tool during core hours on GP practices.

Answer

The Government is committed to improving access to general practice by increasing capacity and making it easier for patients to contact their surgery.

The contractual change from 1 October 2025 clarified that online consultation tools should be available throughout core hours for non-urgent appointment requests, medication queries, and administrative requests. There were no contractual limits on the number of requests patients could make through online consultation tools during core hours before this change, and there continue to be none.

Online access gives patients another route to contact their practice, alongside telephone and walk-in access, and supports practices to triage requests according to clinical need. General practices are independent businesses that hold contracts with the National Health Service to provide essential services to the public and are responsible for managing their daily operations to fulfil their contractual obligations, including how they manage the requests they receive.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
4447
Session
2026-27
Related items
Subjects
General practitioners Telemedicine
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk