GPs are concerned about the ‘potential negative impact’ on patients’ perceptions should their digital telephony data be released to the public.
Sheffield LMC said it received GP concerns about the impact on patients of data that will be collected from practices’ digital telephony after October.
The 2024/25 GP contract was amended to require practices to provide digital telephony data on eight metrics through a national data extraction, for use by NHS England, ICBs and PCNs.
GP leaders have previously told Pulse that the data could be used to identify practices who are underperforming, or even ‘quoted against GPs’ with patients.
An update from Sheffield LMC said that in an attempt ‘to pre-empt’ some of the questions practices may receive about the data, it has written a letter to patients explaining the current challenges faced by practices.
It said: ‘In view of concerns raised with the LMC about the potential (negative) impact of data that will be collected from digital telephony data after October 2024, we issued an update to all represented Sheffield GPs and practice managers.
‘As noted, we continue to inform commissioners that the problem with waiting times for GP appointments and telephone calls is not “access” but “capacity”.
‘In an attempt to pre-empt some of the questions you might receive from patients, we circulated a patient-facing leaflet that can be displayed with the practice header in your waiting room.’
NHS England said that the purpose of extracting this data ‘will be to better understand overall demand on general practice in advance of winter’ and its national director of primary care Dr Amanda Doyle said that there will be ‘absolutely no targets associated with it’ and ‘no financial implications for it’.
But the BMA’s GP Committee England has recently raised concerns that NHS England could use the data to ‘performance manage’ GP practices.
When asked by Pulse if this data will be released to the public, NHSE failed to respond.
The eight metrics that will be tracked
- call volumes
- calls abandoned
- call times to answer
- missed call volumes
- wait time before call abandoned
- call backs requested
- call backs made
- average call length time
The LMC’s letter to patients said that GPs are ‘experiencing a significant increase’ in demand for appointments, queries and prescriptions.
‘We apologise as this can lead to a delay in answering the telephone or being able to offer appointments and advice in a timely manner,’ it added.
‘We are trying to improve access to the surgery for you with new ways of delivering services. Whilst trying to deal with each telephone request appropriately we are limited by the lack of government investment into general practice to meet some of the time demands.’
The letter also mentioned ‘problems faced by all practices across England’, including
- Government investment in primary care has fallen from 8.9% (2015/16) to less than 7% (2024/25)
- Practices receive just £107.57 per year for each patient, or 30 pence per day – less than the cost of an apple
- The Government and ICBs are increasing the demand on general practice by moving more work from secondary care into the community
- There are fewer GPs ‘due to funding limits’
- GPs need to supervise other clinical staff, which can reduce appointment availability
- Some GP surgeries are having to close or merge to maintain services to patients
As part of collective action which started at the beginning of the month, the GPC is advising practices to ‘not agree yet to share call volume data metrics with NHS England’.
And earlier this year, the GPC asked NHS England to immediately pause its cloud-based telephony project, following concerns around ‘skyrocketing’ costs for GP practices.
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It sounds reasonable. Unfortunately some practices are under-performing. Holding on to the telephone for 30min is unacceptable. It is of benefit to everyone if we deliver good healthcare but it needs to be funded.
We already know that there is a problem with capacity in both the telephony system, and receptionists available to answer, in the earliest part of the morning – the 8am rush.
We also know that this is caused by the targets and criteria already imposed in which NHSE insists that patients must only be offered a ‘same-day’ appointment, which both shortens the time-frame available for appointments to follow with sufficient notice after the phone call; and also means that patients must phone on the day, and are not allowed to phone later in the day and be given appointment for the folowing day. This all intnensifies the 8 am rush.
Practices do not want this, GPs do not want this, and patients do not want this : but NHSE insists on it.
Maybe measuring it would give us some evidence to overturn the diktat?
It is not rocket science.
However I suspect the dictators at NHSE have no idea how the coal face functions.
If your reception offices only have enough room to have 6 work stations set up and you have 6 staff working at them then during the 8am surge only 6 incoming calls can be dealt with at any one time. Having more telephone lines does not fix anything. If 20 people are trying to phone in some will be in a queueing system. It is a capacity issue and demand has gone up with less full time staff to cope
“ When asked by Pulse if this data will be released to the public, NHSE failed to respond.” says it all. It will be released with probably informal briefing of the Daily Mail etc as has happened repeatedly in the past. NHSE do not need to beat GPs when their mates in the lay press will do it for them.