Accessing GP care in Wolverhampton
Existing concerns around patient access to GP services increased significantly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Urgent action is required if GP practices are to improve access for everyone and meet patient demand. In October 2021, the NHS announced a plan to improve GP access across the UK, and between November 2021 and March 2022 a £250 million access fund was directed towards increasing same day urgent care appointments and the variety of appointment types on offer.
In 2021, the Health Scrutiny Panel asked Healthwatch Wolverhampton to call all GP practices in the city to gather information about how people can book appointments over the phone – the report was published in December 2021.
We followed up this exercise in May-June 2022 and reported our findings to the Health Scrutiny Panel and the clinical directors for each Primary Care Network (PCN). We found that while some progress has been made, there are still areas for improvement.
We will repeat the exercise again early 2023 and present our findings to the Health Scrutiny Panel.
Read our report
If you would like this report in a different format, email info@healthwatchwolverhampton.co.uk or call 0800 246 5018.
