A new study has revealed that up to 27 per cent of GP appointments could be avoided if the primary care system worked more efficiently.

The study, commissioned as part of the implementation of the NHS Five Year Forward View, showed that too much GP time was taken up by complicated administrative procedures such as chasing test results or rearranging hospital appointments. Over one in four appointments could have been avoided with more coordinated working between GPs and hospitals, better use of technology to streamline administrative burdens and communication between teams, and wider use of other primary care staff.

Indeed, it was estimated that one in six of the patients in the study could have been seen by someone else in the wider primary care team, with community pharmacy potentially able to support 5.5 per cent of patients with treatment or self care advice on how to meet health needs.

Dr Jonathan Serjeant, GP, says: “The recommendations set out in this report, particularly those around extending the GP team to incorporate other health professionals, will help reduce the current levels of bureaucracy GPs face on a daily basis.”