Let’s get back to seeing GPs face to face: Growing toll of cancers and devastating illnesses missed by ‘remote’ doctors fuels concerns over healthcare appointments

Family doctors must carry out more appointments face to face, the Daily Mail demands today.

A string of deaths has heightened fears that cancers and other illnesses are being missed because of the rise of phone and video consultations.

Before the pandemic around 80 per cent of GP appointments were in person. But the figure was just 57 per cent in July despite life returning to normal.

In some regions, just 45 per cent of consultations are face to face – even though most adults are now double jabbed. A senior coroner warned this month that not seeing a doctor in person may have contributed to the deaths of five people across Manchester.

The Daily Mail’s campaign for more face-to-face consultations was backed last night by politicians, charities and families.

Lisa King, who lost her husband Peter after a GP denied him an in-person appointment, said: ‘I hope this Daily Mail campaign can make a difference because I never want another wife, husband, son or daughter to have to go through what me and my two sons are going through.’

Read more: Let’s get back to seeing GPs face to face: Growing toll of cancers and devastating illnesses missed by ‘remote’ doctors fuels concerns over healthcare appointments