MSKP-18-06-25=GP APPOINTMENTS SHARED

A report to Lincolnshire County Council’s Health Scrutiny Committee next week shows that the county’s 81 GP practices, serving 824,552 registered patients, surpassed the NHS’s 5.5 million target set under the Primary Care Access Recovery Plan by 2% and recorded a 4% uplift on the previous year.

Of the 5.68 million appointments in 2024/25, 87% of those not usually booked in advance were said to have been delivered within two weeks of being requested — above the national target of 85%.

All practices offer online appointment booking, the ability to request repeat prescriptions online, and all General Medical Services (GMS) practices provide the option to register online.

Staff numbers in GP practices are also rising, with an 18% increase in full-time equivalent posts compared to 2019.

During 2024/25, the number of GPs in Lincolnshire increased by 25 full-time roles. This growth is largely attributed to the county’s high conversion rate of trainees into fully qualified GPs and targeted support for recruitment and retention. Nationally, GP trainees and locums are reporting fewer available opportunities, and NHS England has introduced the GP Additional Roles scheme in response.

Did not attend (DNA) rates are relatively low for Lincolnshire, coming in at 3.2% in April 2025 — the national average rate is 4.2.

“This indicates that people in Lincolnshire are generally taking up the offer of an appointment and that booked appointments are accessible and at a convenient time and place,” reads the report.

“To ensure best use of available appointments practices aim to minimise DNAs through a range of approaches including sending written confirmation at time of booking, sending reminder messages ahead of appointments (these can be text messages with appointment systems configured to automatically send), providing online booking and cancelling of appointments and providing information to patients on DNA rates in practice newsletters.

“The approach taken will depend on the type of appointment and individual practice operational processes.”