Doctors' union warning over online booking safety risk

On Wednesday, when a new online booking system is introduced across England, the doctors' union, the British Medical Association (BMA), has warned that GPs could miss potentially serious health issues, which could result in harm to patients. However, Health Minister Wes Streeting says that ministers are putting patients' interests first and have already agreed upon concrete safeguards with the union. Patients needing an on-the-day GP appointment or a call from a consultant will be able to submit a request online throughout the day. The new system is intended to minimise long waits on the phone during the so-called '8am scramble' and is now available in several locations.

'Online Tsunami'

According to the BMA, the government must halt the rollout of the online booking scheme to allow for changes to be implemented. The union claims that online platforms are unable to correctly distinguish between urgent and non-urgent patient messages, which could result in delays for potentially fatal cases. The BMA has also warned that there will be a potential 'online triage tsunami' due to increased demand. Union representatives believe more could be done to provide safeguards, including the ability to temporarily switch off the online booking system if staff are struggling to deal with patient numbers. The union has warned that if the government does not update the scheme, a formal dispute will be announced. This could result in a 'work to rule' situation, similar to one previously introduced where doctors restricted patient visits to the minimum required under their employment contracts.

'NHS Should Not Be Held Back'

Ministers, on the other hand, claim that the BMA had consented to the introduction of online booking as part of a newly negotiated deal in England. They point out that many GPs already offer this facility. Wes Streeting, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, called it "absurd" that many patients in 2025 cannot book appointments online.

"You should be able to book an NHS appointment online if you can book a hair appointment online," he stated. "We have established concrete measures, where patients will be prompted to call or attend in person for urgent appointments. The BMA knows this. Patients will always come first, and we will not stand for our NHS being held back in the analogue period."

Dr. Katie Bramall-Stainer, the chairwoman of the BMA GP committee, said that the changes were made "on the understanding that necessary precautions would be implemented" before Wednesday, 1st October. "This was agreed—in writing—with the government and NHSE in February this year. It's been almost eight months since promises were broken," she said.

She added that ministers had been warned that the changes would result in "hospital-style waiting lists in general practice," which could "reduce face-to-face GP appointments."

Mr. Streeting said that 2,000 more GPs had already been recruited across England and that patient satisfaction with their GP services was on the rise. Officials said that surgeries that had modified the procedures had reduced waiting times for appointments.