New figures from the NHS England ‘Appointments in General Practice, October 2024’ report show that a record number of appointments were delivered by general practice and primary care networks in October 2024, reaching an estimated 40.3 million, compared to the 37.2 million delivered in the previous year. Of these appointments, the figures showed that ‘40.1% of all appointments in October 2024 were carried out by a GP and 23.2% were carried out by nurses’ – meaning nurses dealt with over 9.3 million.
- Labour promises £1.4 billion to cut NHS waiting list in five years
- AI receptionists to be rolled out by the NHS to reduced missed appointments
- Little reassurance for nurses in budget
However, despite the record numbers, the recent Darzi investigation of the NHS found that ‘primary care [is] doing more work for a lesser share of the NHS budget,’ as the proportion of NHS funding going to primary care had fallen ‘by a quarter in just over a decade, from 24% in 2009 to just 18% by 2021, continuing a downward trajectory from [its] peak in 2004.’
Health leaders continue to call into question the sustainability of the primary care model, as increased costs and concerns of consequentially declining staff levels will ‘make delivering on the Government’s commitments of moving from treatment to prevention, and delivering care closer to home, significantly harder to achieve,’ said Ruth Rankine, primary care director at the NHS Confederation. ‘Primary care is the front door of the NHS, but it is facing increasing demand and costs with fewer providers. The rise in Employer National Insurance Contributions could further exacerbate the problem with providers having to make staff redundant or close their doors permanently if these costs are not reimbursed by the government.’