Study shows patients would rather see GP than pharmacist or nurse

Patients see in-person appointments as the ‘gold standard’ of care

New research indicates a significant patient preference for direct consultations with a GP, with in-person appointments widely regarded as the "gold standard" of care.

A comprehensive review of 33 existing studies by the University of Southampton underscored this, revealing a desire among patients to maintain continuity of care by seeing a specific doctor.

The study noted a decline in patient trust and confidence when individuals seeking a GP were redirected to nurses or other health workers.

The research also highlighted patient calls for streamlined GP appointment booking, advocating for clearer phone options, concise recorded messages, and responsive online pathways.

These findings emerge as the Government's 10-year health plan seeks to dramatically increase NHS App utilisation and bolster GP recruitment.

An improved app will give patients more control over booking, moving and cancelling appointments, as well as quicker access to medics and other forms of care.

A GP writes a prescription in his practice room at the Temple Fortune Health Centre GP Practice near Golders Green, London (PA Archive)

The new study, published in the British Journal of General Practice, suggested confidence and trust scores appeared to be lower when people wanted a face-to-face appointment and received a call instead.

The public also wanted clear details on the roles of different NHS workers, it found.

Lead author Helen Atherton, professor of primary care research, said: “Patients want a deeper connection with their doctor’s practice, better communication, and the choice to see the right professional in the best way for them.

“The NHS needs to better understand what people want so it can shape its services to work for patients.

“Ignoring these fundamental needs will only exacerbate the issues it currently faces.”

Writing in the journal, Prof Atherton and colleagues added: “Patients wanted a nearby practice, with clean waiting rooms, easy appointment booking using simple systems and with short waiting times, and to be kept informed about the process.”

In particular, researchers found that, for medication reviews and long-term conditions, patients preferred seeing someone they were familiar with.

The research also suggested that, where a patient’s condition was worsening, 69.5 per cent of patients reported preferring to consult a GP than a pharmacist and 42.7 per cent strongly agreed or agreed that they would prefer to consult with a GP rather than a pharmacist.

The RCGP’s Professor Kamila Hawthorne (Royal College of General Practitioners)

Professor Kamila Hawthorne, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: “It’s really encouraging to see how much patients value the care, and continuity of care, their GP provides – there are some things that only a GP can do for their patients, but it’s also important that patients don’t feel somehow short-changed if they’re offered an appointment with another member of our highly-skilled multi-disciplinary team.

“Not all patients need to see a GP. Procedures such as blood tests, routine management of non-complex long-term conditions, the monitoring of repeat prescriptions, or assessment of a painful joint, for example, can be carried out by some of the various other members of the team who now work in general practice, such as nursing staff, mental health professionals, clinical pharmacists and physiotherapists.

“This also alleviates workload on GPs, allowing us to spend time with those patients with complex health needs who really do need our expert medical attention.

“However, we know that even when working as part of multi-disciplinary teams, patients often struggle to access their GP when they need to – and we share their frustrations.

“This is due to decades of under-funding of general practice and poor workforce planning, which has meant patient need for our care has escalated in recent years, while GP numbers have sadly not risen in step.

“We need thousands more GPs, and the recently published 10-year health plan commits to providing these.

“We’re now looking ahead to the revised long-term workforce plan, due later this year, to see how the Government plans to recruit more GPs and keep more GPs in the profession for longer – but also address some of the nonsensical issues GPs are reporting that they can’t find appropriate employment upon qualification.”