England’s GP surgeries must now offer online booking as doctors warn of a tidal wave of demand

From today, every GP surgery in England must provide patients with the option to book appointments online — a move the government hails as overdue modernisation but which doctors fear could collapse under pressure.

The new rule, introduced on 1 October, requires practices to make online booking available through their websites and apps between 8am and 6.30pm, Monday to Friday. Patients will be able to use the service not just for non-urgent appointments but also for medication queries and administrative requests.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has framed the policy as a long-overdue transformation of general practice, claiming it will make booking an appointment as straightforward as ordering a takeaway. Speaking at the Labour Party conference, he told delegates: “Many GPs already offer this service because they’ve changed with the times. Why shouldn’t booking a GP appointment be as easy as booking a delivery, a taxi, or a takeaway?”

The government has promised financial and logistical support to surgeries that struggle with the transition, alongside what it says is a billion pounds of additional funding for general practice and 2,000 extra GPs.

But despite that reassurance, resistance has been swift. The British Medical Association (BMA), which represents doctors across the UK, argues the changes have been rushed through without safeguards. It warns surgeries are unprepared for the surge of online traffic the rule will unleash. In some areas, particularly working-class communities, existing digital systems are already stretched to breaking point.

The BMA has pointed to inconsistent provision across the country, noting that many practices with online services have been forced to switch them off at peak times just to cope with overwhelming demand. Its leaders argue that forcing universal adoption without a corresponding increase in staff is reckless.

The dispute has escalated into open confrontation. GPs have already voted to enter a formal dispute with the government over the policy, and are now weighing a series of potential actions to register their opposition.

Streeting, however, dismissed the union’s objections, accusing it of doing a “real disservice” to the many doctors who have embraced digital booking. He warned that resisting change risks trapping the NHS in outdated methods that fail patients. “If we give in to the forces of conservatism, they will turn the NHS into a museum of 20th century healthcare,” he declared.

The mandatory rollout of online booking is part of a wider overhaul of the NHS under Labour. Party leader Sir Keir Starmer has unveiled plans for a national “online hospital” to be launched by 2027, which would allow patients to receive treatment and monitoring from home. The government claims the initiative could free up as many as 8.5 million additional NHS appointments in its first three years.

Through the NHS app, patients would be able to access remote care, book in-person procedures at local hospitals, and arrange treatment at surgical hubs or diagnostic centres, cutting down waiting lists. Officials say the strategy is designed to ease the crippling pressure on GP surgeries and provide more flexible routes into care.

For many patients, the immediate change will mean logging on rather than calling at 8am in the hope of securing one of the limited daily appointments. While some may find the system liberating, others share the BMA’s fear of chaos — with servers crashing, queues moving online rather than disappearing, and overstretched staff scrambling to handle the digital deluge.

As of today, however, the government’s directive is no longer optional. Every GP surgery in England must provide online booking. Whether the policy delivers smoother access to healthcare or spirals into fresh controversy will depend on how quickly the system can withstand the pressures that now await.