My parents need to see a doctor, not log on to an app

For older people, given QR codes and online forms, it can be a daunting task to get a GP appointment

- says Marina Gask

Recently, my mum Jeanne, 93, went to her GP surgery to make an appointment. It's a good 15-minute walk, which isn't always easy, but it keeps her mobile and has always been her best route to seeing a doctor. “But when I got there, there was no one manning the reception,” she told me on the phone. “This was mid-morning on a weekday. Getting to see a doctor has become so hard for people like me. I feel totally shut out.”

When Wes Streeting announced at the start of the month, to great fanfare, that a mandatory online appointment form will be introduced at all GP surgeries in England, my heart sank. For my parents - both in their nineties - digital communication systems are confusing and often unworkable. Unless there is someone on hand like me to do it for them, seeing a doctor is becoming harder, not easier, for the people who are most likely to need one.

The theory goes that an increased use of the NHS app will “free up the phone line” for the elderly and others who lack digital access, allowing them to book appointments over the phone. But this still ignores the elderly who would prefer to go to the surgery, maybe because they are hard of hearing and struggle to understand what is being said during a callback.

For Emma*, 90, who lives alone in Manchester, it’s difficult to get to the phone in time when her GP calls. “I don’t always hear it ring. And having arthritis, I can’t move fast. My son or grandson will have to make computer appointments from now on.”

Not only is this leaving many parents like Emma and mine anxious and flustered, but it is also increasing the burden on family members who have to pick up the slack. And for many elderly people, not being able to speak to someone face-to-face is so stressful that they simply give up on seeing a doctor altogether.