Councillor Zafar Iqbal (Bradford Moor) has slammed 'unsafe' online GP appointments and said virtual consultations – introduced to curb the spread of Covid – are 'no longer necessary.'

As it emerged that some patients in Bradford are now paying for private consultations in a desperate bid to see a doctor, Cllr Iqbal has called for 'as many as possible' face-to-face appointments now many Bradford residents are vaccinated.

He said: 'It's sad so many appointments have gone online because you can miss important health information you cannot get from a virtual consultation and this can be unsafe.”

“I am aware of a patient who has been trying for over three days to get through and has been ringing at 8 am and the line has a busy tone”

“Further to this patients who are lucky to get through are not being offered a face to face appointment but instead a telephone consultation, which causes further problems to patients, in particular, older patients who are unable to express and explain the problem clearly which does not lead to a diagnosis and serious conditions could be overlooked.”

He suggested that the reason Accident and Emergency departments are so full, is because of the lack of GP appointments.

He said: “I would propose the increase in A+E waiting times can be attributed to a lack of GP appointments. 

“Patients will seek other available services such as the NHS 111 service and A&E if they are unable to see their GP thus increasing the pressure on these services. 

“Since the introduction of online GP appointments, there has been a significant increase in people presenting themselves at A+E with non-life-threatening conditions.”
“If people aren’t able to get a GP appointment when they have a seemingly minor issue, it is just going to get worse, and they will end up in hospital.” 

Recent data from NHS Digital showed 57.2 percent of appointments in July were conducted face-to-face but it was much lower in the Bradford district.

Many parents are worried about their children's health, the elderly who suffer from extreme health conditions can no longer have a face-to-face consultation with their GP, Cllr Iqbal added.

When the Telegraph & Argus asked NHS Bradford District and Craven CCG for a comment, Dr. James Thomas, clinical chair, said: “Unfortunately the pandemic is not yet over which means GP practices across the district are continuing to work differently.

"Our health services are under enormous pressure, but we are still here to help if needed. We must maintain safe infection control and minimise unnecessary physical contact where possible.

“We kindly ask for patients to continue to be kind to our staff, socially distance where possible and wear a face mask in healthcare settings.”