Government drops plan to name and shame GPs over in-person appointments

GPs have secured "significant concessions” from NHS England in an apparent climbdown over patient access and face-to-face appointments, the Guardian has been told.

- Andrew Gregory

Family doctors in England had threatened industrial action in protest against the government's attempt to force them to see any patient who demands an appointment in person.

The British Medical Association (BMA) GPs committee voted unanimously to reject plans by the health secretary, Sajid Javid, which included "naming and shaming” surgeries that see too few patients in person, setting up what could be the first big clash between the medical profession and ministers in more than half a decade.

However, in private talks to resolve the crisis on Wednesday, NHS England told the BMA there were no longer any plans to publish monthly "league table” data showing what proportion of surgery appointments occur in person or virtually, according to sources. Separate plans to create specific targets for what proportion of appointments must conducted in person have also been abandoned.