Commuters should be allowed to book a GP appointment online at any London surgery, according to London Assembly member Andrew Boff.
Research by the Conservative member found commuters often have to take time off work to attend GP appointments and can face waits of several days and even weeks for convenient time slots.
His report, Doctor Will See You Now – Improving GP Bookings in London, calls for more walk-in surgeries and the creation of a simple online system that allows patients to book a convenient appointment at any GP surgery in London.
The approach is modelled on existing pilots such as those in Barking and Dagenham, Southwark and North West London.
It is hoped that a universal approach would increase convenience, flexibility and patient choice and free up appointments before and after working hours usually booked up by commuters.
The report: “Doctor Will See You Now – Improving GP Bookings in London” can be accessed at: www.glaconservatives.co.uk/gp/
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Andrew is using the report to call on Sadiq Khan to address a clear health inequality faced by working Londoners.
Conservative London Assembly member Andrew Boff said:
“It is grossly unfair that anyone should be forced to take time off work to see a doctor.
“Given that anyone can book a hotel across the other side of the world at the click of a button, why should booking a GP across London be any different?
“The technology exists to create an online booking system that would maximise the availability of appointments across the capital.
“We need to move away from the outdated model that restricts people to their local GP and embrace choice and flexibility for Londoners.
“I will be pushing the Mayor to address this clear inequality facing working Londoners.”
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