A new digital consultation system developed by local GPs in Leeds is helping patients access general practice services more quickly and with less hassle, while saving the equivalent of 285 appointments every week.
The system, created by clinicians working in Leeds, is designed to streamline how patients contact their GP surgery and receive advice or care. According to information released by the practices involved, the tool has reduced demand for routine face-to-face appointments by an amount equivalent to 285 consultations per week, a saving that practices say is improving access and cutting waiting times for patients with more urgent or complex needs.
Digital consultation platforms enable patients to submit information about symptoms or requests remotely and allow clinicians to triage, advise or treat without immediate in-person contact. In this instance, the Leeds-developed system is intended to minimise the administrative and logistical hurdles that can delay care, such as telephone congestion, repeated callbacks or unnecessary travel to a surgery. Practices implementing the system report that it has eased those bottlenecks for many patients while freeing clinicians’ time for appointments that require hands-on assessment or more in-depth clinical attention.
The initiative reflects a broader shift within primary care toward using technology to manage workload and improve patient flow. Practices across the UK have increasingly experimented with online and telephone-based consultations, especially following the need to reduce in-person contact during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Leeds, the locally designed approach aims to tailor a digital solution to the specific needs of patients and clinicians in the area, rather than relying solely on off-the-shelf national systems.
Saving the equivalent of 285 appointments each week has practical implications for GP workload and patient access. For surgeries operating with finite appointment slots, reallocating or removing hundreds of routine consultations can shorten waiting lists, increase the availability of same-day or urgent appointments, and allow clinicians to concentrate on patients with higher clinical complexity. Practices also say that patients benefit from avoiding unnecessary travel and delays when issues can be resolved or triaged remotely.
The developers — GPs working in Leeds — built the system within the local primary care context, aiming to make it straightforward for both patients and staff to use. Implementation has involved integrating the tool into existing practice workflows and training staff in its use. Early uptake among patients and clinicians appears to have been sufficient to generate the reported weekly appointment-equivalent savings, though the scale of deployment across the city’s practices varies.
Health systems considering digital consultation tools typically measure several outcomes to judge success: reductions in in-person appointments, effects on patient satisfaction, impacts on clinician workload and any changes to clinical safety or referral patterns. In Leeds, participating practices are continuing to monitor how the system performs in these areas as they determine the best way to embed it in routine care. Data from the initiative will inform whether the system is expanded more widely within the city or adapted further to meet local needs.
The example from Leeds adds to ongoing discussions about how primary care can balance accessibility, continuity and capacity using digital tools. For now, the locally developed system has delivered a measurable reduction in the demand for traditional appointments, and practices are tracking outcomes to guide next steps in its use and potential wider adoption.