Phone lines unclogged as all GP practices in England now required to keep online consultation tools open from 8am-6:30pm, Monday to Friday

Move takes best of the NHS to rest of the NHS – with one surgery already cutting waits from 14 to three days and most patients seen within one week

Comes alongside an extra £1.1 billion funding for general practice and over 2,000 more GPs hired

GP phone lines across the country will be freed up as practices are now required to keep their online consultation tools running throughout the day, in a major step towards the government’s ambition of ending the 8am scramble.

From today (1 October 2025), patients will be able to request appointments, ask questions, and describe symptoms online throughout the day rather than calling their surgery or visiting

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