General practice continues to face overwhelming pressures, with unmanageable workloads, coupled with a rapidly shrinking and exhausted workforce. The COVID-19 pandemic has generated a vast backlog of care, which is so far largely unmeasured and unrecognised in general practice, exerting greater pressure on a system already at breaking point.

The pressures practices are under are evident from the most recent GP appointment data which shows that in August, practices in England delivered a staggering 3 million more appointments than in the same month in 2019, meaning we are now managing the levels of demand used to see in a pre-pandemic winter in the middle of summer, fighting an uphill battle to meet patients’ needs, with fewer GPs.

It is therefore disappointing to see the announcement by the shadow health secretary last week demanding that GPs provide face-to-face appointments for every patient who wants them, making divisive headline-grabbing promises that are not grounded in reality suggesting the existing workforce are somehow not trying hard enough.

The present crisis is so acute that the BMA now recommend practices take urgent action to preserve patient care and their own wellbeing, and have updated our guidance on Safe working in general practice, which is designed to enable practices to make decisions as to how to prioritise care, and deprioritise certain aspects of their day to day activity, within the confines of the GMS contract.