GP practices have delivered more appointments than ever, with teams providing more than 1.5 million patient appointments every working day over the past year — the highest level on record. Over the same period general practice carried out a total of 388 million appointments, an increase of 8.3 million compared with the previous year.
Dr Amanda Doyle, National Director for Primary Care and Community Services at NHS England, says the rise is partly driven by the growing use of online contact options. Patients are increasingly choosing digital routes to get help, and February was a standout month with 8.6 million online consultation submissions — an 85% rise compared with February 2025. Across the last 12 months there were 83 million online consultation requests, underlining that digital access is now a core part of everyday general practice.
While practices acknowledge there is still work to do — and that patients and staff can find it frustrating when phone lines are busy, especially first thing in the morning — expanding online access is helping reduce the traditional morning rush to get through by phone.
Key figures and trends:
– 1.5 million+ patient appointments delivered on average each working day over the last year.
– 388 million total GP appointments in the year, up 8.3 million year on year.
– 83 million online consultation requests in the past 12 months.
– February 2026 saw 8.6 million online submissions, an 85% increase on February 2025; adjusted for coverage this rise is 53.4% per 1,000 patients.
– Phone contact remains high: 29.2 million phone calls were made in February, averaging more than a million each working day.
– Patient experience is improving: the latest Office for National Statistics data show 73.7% of patients now describe contacting their GP practice as easy, up from around two-thirds in summer 2024.
The combination of digital and traditional access routes aims to make it easier for patients to get the care they need while easing pressure on reception lines and practice teams. NHS leaders say continued expansion of online services is one part of ongoing efforts to improve access and reduce waiting and phone congestion for patients.