Access to general practice appointments and sustainable change: a focused ethnographic case study

Abstract

Background Access to an appointment with a GP is important to patients, but hard to achieve in modern general practice, with general practice delivering more consultations than ever before. Research has focused on discrete systems for managing access in general practice, for example, telephone prioritisation, and these have been demonstrated to be variably successful in managing demand. Aim To examine the sustainability of previous attempts to improve access to GP appointments to understand if access systems previously deployed have been adapted, abandoned, or sustained. Design and setting This was a focused ethnographic comparative case study in eight English general practices. the problem is framed as one of managing demand. An alternative approach might investigate what patients want or need and consider how best this could be delivered.