Care minister Stephen Kinnock held a call with integrated care board (ICB) leaders to identify areas that are struggling to roll out online access to primary care and discuss how the government can support them.
Changes to the GP contract, which came into effect on 1 October 2025, require GP practices to keep their online consultation tools running throughout core hours, allowing patients to request appointments, ask questions and describe symptoms.
However the British Medical Association (BMA) has called for the government to implement safeguards to prevent GP practices being overwhelmed by changes to online consultation access.
Following the call with ICB leaders on 3 November 2025, Kinnock said: “In the 21st century, patients want and rightly expect to be able to contact their GP online.
“We know that for the first time ever, more patients are contacting their GP practice online than by phone.
“It’s fantastic that most practices have successfully rolled out their online consultation service – now it’s time to support the remaining few to get this up and running everywhere.
“We’ve invested £1.1 billion in general practice and recruited 2,500 more GPs – so the tools and resources are there to deliver a modernised service fit for the future.”
The Department of Health and Social Care has said it will support practices that are struggling with the new requirements, but if GPs refuse to meet their contractual duties, NHS ICBs can take formal action, including issuing warning notices, applying sanctions or in serious cases, ending contracts.
In response, Dr Katie Bramall, chair of the BMA GP committee, told Digital Health News that the government had not implemented promised safeguards for online consultations, resulting in practices “struggling to operate with the barrage of requests coming in”.
“GPs are overworked, practices are at capacity and patients will still be waiting to see their GP.
“GPs will always embrace new technology but only as long as it is safe to do so.
“Things will only get worse unless the government sticks to its promise and ensures necessary safeguards are implemented to guarantee this national policy change is effective, efficient and safe,” Bramall said.
NHS England said that it has helped practices that are struggling to prepare for the changes by providing guidance, webinars, case studies, and bringing in GPs and practice staff who are experts in service redesign and improvement in general practice.
Commenting on the issue, John Mitchell, associate director of digital and deputy senior information risk owner at NHS Humber and North Yorkshire ICB, said: “It’s essential that the national NHSE/BMA GP contract continues to evolve to reflect the digital requirements in the 10 year health plan.
“The contract ensures a shared understanding of what needs to be delivered in practices, and also empowers partnership delivery.
“If the contract doesn’t truly reflect the required direction of travel then delivery will be at risk.”
NHSE figures show 6.5 million online consultation requests were submitted to GPs in September 2025, up by half compared to the same period last year at 4.4 million.
