Record appointments being provided by Southampton GPs
Figures have been revealed by the Integrated Care Board
Last updated 10th Feb 2025
GP surgeries across Southampton are providing a record number of appointments.
The total of 182,000 primary care appointments in the city in October was up 12,000 on the previous year.
James Roach, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board (ICB) director of primary and local care, told councillors there was a lot of “complexity” within the increased demand.
Speaking at a meeting of Southampton City Council’s health overview and scrutiny panel, Mr Roach said the response from practices and their teams involved a lot of work and effort:
“We are seeing sicker people with higher acuity. We have had an increase in respiratory conditions. We have seen an increase in the number of frail elderly patients who present routinely to general practice. Access is at an all time high. It is being serviced.
“We should give our practices credit but we still need to continue to modernise and innovate to sustain that level of demand moving forward.”
In October, which was the most recent full data available, 70 per cent of appointments in Southampton were face-to-face.
The meeting heard this was 10% higher than the Hampshire and Isle of Wight average.
Mr Roach said this had been achieved as the ICB’s model was not just dependent on doctors.
55% of appointments were with wider clinicians than just GPs, while 48% of appointments took place on the same day or next day from the point of booking.
“There are positives there,” Mr Roach said. “In reflecting that, we are not complacent.
“We know that some people still experience a sub-optimal experience in general practice, but what we’re better at with our data is being able to isolate those issues and act on those issues.”
Councillors were told 130,000 people across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight had used services offered by community pharmacists since December 2023.
This included through the ‘Pharmacy First’ programme where patients can get treatment for seven common conditions directly from a local pharmacy, without the need for a GP appointment or prescription.