Reduction in face-to-face GP consultations

Changing media depictions of remote consulting in COVID-19: analysis of UK newspapers

“…The shift from in-person to remote-by-default consulting in UK general practice, introduced in March 2020 as part of the infection control measures for the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic (1), was arguably the fastest and most extensive scale-up of a major service innovation in the National Health Service (NHS) since 1948. Clinical assessment of patients shifted almost overnight to online or telephone triage followed by telephone or video call-back and a face-to-face consultation only in rare circumstances (2); one large practice observed a 92.5% decrease in face-to-face consultations between the beginning and end of March 2020 and a corresponding increase in telephone and econsultations (3).…”

Cancer diagnostic delay in the COVID-19 era: what happens next?

“…At the same time, the UK National Health Service (NHS) rapidly switched its comprehensive health care to one almost entirely focused on care for patients with COVID-19. Cancer screening was suspended in late March, 2020 (leaving around 8500 patients with a positive colorectal screening test, and a cancer risk of around 10%, uninvestigated); 4 patients are consulting face-to-face in primary care much less frequently (although telephone consultations have largely replaced these consultations), 5 and fewer 2-week-wait referrals are being made. 6 , 7 The reduction in 2-week-wait referrals has not been uniform across all diagnostic pathways—eg, with initial 2-week-wait data from the south-west of England suggesting a decrease in referrals of approximately a quarter for possible breast cancer, but more than a half for possible skin cancer (unpublished).…”

Touch matters: COVID-19, physical examination, and 21st century general practice

“…GPs, typically innovative and adaptable, swiftly switched to 'remote' consulting in March, with telephone and video consultations the norm and face-toface the exception, albeit still available. 1 GP's express concerns that the 'flight to the virtual' may lead to losses, including the sapping of energy and joy and an increase in health inequalities. 2 But there is another deeper issue at stake.…”