New league tables will reveal which GP practices offer the lowest number of appointments.
From today, the public will be able to access data that shows how many appointments every practice in England offers and how long on average it takes to be seen.
The statistics, published on the NHS Digital website, would help patients make “more informed choices” about the GP surgery they choose and “improve transparency about performance", said the government.
But leading GPs raised concerns about the data being used to compare practices against each other without accounting for different patient characteristics.
For instance, a seaside town with an elderly population may have surgeries which offer fewer appointments than city centre practices catering for a younger population.
The move was announced last year, but tomorrow (Thursday) will mark the first day that patients are able to judge appointment data provided by their local surgery.
Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said: “We promised to prioritise patients and improve access and that is exactly what we have done – and this is just the start.
“I am determined to make it easier for people to get an appointment with their GP practice when they need one and this will allow patients to make a more informed choice about the care they receive.”
Professor Kamila Hawthorne, chairwoman of the Royal College of GPs (RCGP), said: “We have serious concerns about how the publication of practice-level data will be used to compare practices against each other as with general practice you’re rarely comparing like with like.
"What works in one practice may not in another, so they will tailor their services to their patient population.
“We worry that this data will be used to create arbitrary ‘league tables’ that don’t account for different patient demographics and ways of working and those that appear at the bottom will face undue criticism at a time when the profession is already demoralised and working under intense pressures.
"We also understand that the data published on Thursday will be experimental, so it’s unclear how comprehensive or useful it will be.”
For appointment data on GP practices in your area visit the NHS Digital website here.
