Healthwatch Hampshire raises concerns of "digital isolation"
A third of GP appointments last month were online or over the phone, new research has found
Last updated 5th Aug 2025
Healthwatch Hampshire's raising concerns patients could experience "digital isolation" as new figures show a third of GP appointments last month were over the phone or online.
That's the highest proportion since the covid pandemic.
Healthwatch has been established since 2013 as "independent patient champions" with 150 across England, offering feedback and acting as a 'voice for the public'.
Siobhain McCurrach, Healthwatch Area Director for Hampshire and Portsmouth, said: "People who are not familiar with using smartphones, for people much more comfortable speaking face-to-face either with the GP surgery, be it the care navigator, the GP themselves, or another clinical role in the GP surgery.
"There will be a significant number of patients on any list in each of those GP surgery practices where they feel lost in the digital world and do not feel confident that their health needs are being looked after purely from having access via an online consultation.
"There are provisions in local libraries, certainly in Portsmouth, where there is training for people on how to access the NHS app, and generally on using these digital mechanisms for accessing primary care.
"But for all those who uses those, there's many more who are not even aware of the service which is available.
"We're concerned that there is a digital isolation and digital poverty with people who are highly literate in using smart phones and smart technology to access healthcare and people who either lack the skills or the equipment.
"Or indeed the confidence, to feel that what they input to a database is reflective of what they meant to present, and they would rather be seen by a clinician face-to-face to assess their symptoms."
The new figures state that 33.3% of GP appointments in England in June were carried out over the phone or online.
The figure is up from 30.9% a year earlier in 2024 and 28.3% in June 2023.
As many as four in 10 appointments were carried out by phone or online during the pandemic.
Ms McCurrach added: "People are responding to the changing circumstances and understanding that there is more availability of face-to-face access.
"But equally, having experienced using an online consultation or speaking to a clinician over the phone, it's quite handy for some queries or conditions.
"So the number of people learning about primary care through these matters is going to be continually increasing.
"It may be very convenient for people who are in an environment at work where they can't leave and they can take an hour out of their day rather than having to travel a long way back to their GP surgery.
"So there will be an increasing number of people who are discovering this greater convenience and building in confidence.
"There will still be people who lack that confidence to access appointments in this way."
Professor Kamila Hawthorne, chairwoman of the Royal College of GPs (RCGP), said: "Remote consultations, whether delivered over the phone or via video, can offer convenience and flexibility that many patients value, and evidence has shown that in the vast majority of cases, remote care is safe.
"Often a GP might initially consult with a patient remotely and then ask them to come into the practice if it's necessary to see them in person.
"However, we also know that many patients prefer to access their care in-person, and this is how the majority of appointments are still delivered.
"Over the last 12 months, GPs and their teams have delivered a record-breaking number of appointments, and nearly 250 million were carried out in person."