Patient safety has been put at risk after Labour changes to GP appointment bookings led to fewer face–to–face consultations, doctors have warned.
Since October 1, all GP practices in England must accept queries and booking requests made online between 8.30am and 6pm on week days.
But a poll of 330 GPs and 242 practice managers found a third (32 per cent) had been forced to cut in–person appointments they deliver as a result.
Meanwhile, 25 per cent say the requirements have put patient safety at risk, the survey by journals Pulse and Management In Practice found, because dealing with patients remotely makes it
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