How will the new GP contract improve the experience at your local practice?
What will the new GP contract mean for your care? And how did Healthwatch England use your feedback to call for a contract that works for you?
Yesterday, the government confirmed how it expects GP practices to deliver patient care from 1 April 2026.
Under the GP contract for 2026-2027, £457m will be made available to help recruit more GPs, deal with urgent patients more quickly and ensure GP practices deliver high-quality clinical care.
Usually, the government only consults with the British Medical Association on the GP contract, but this year it formally sought views and evidence from Healthwatch England, National Voices (a coalition of health and care charities) and professional bodies including the Royal College of GPs. This broader consultation, the first of its kind, has made patient experience a core part of government decisions on what it expects from GP practices.
In the talks, Healthwatch England told the government that problems accessing GP services have consistently been the area of greatest concern reported to us by the public. In our Choice Gap report in July, 66% of people said they want a choice of appointment booking method – phone, in person, or online – but only 30% said they were always offered this choice.
The focus of this Healthwatch England article is on six key changes patients can expect as a result of the new GP contract, why they are happening and how your feedback helped shape them.
Six key changes for patients
1. You should not be told to ‘call back tomorrow’
The contract for 2026/27 says that GP practices must not ask patients to call back to book an appointment on another day. For requests that are not clinically urgent, practices still need to provide a timely response confirming the next steps, and the government says this must be by the end of the next working day.
This does not mean your request must be fully dealt with by then, but it does mean you should understand how and when your issue will be managed.
This change aims to reduce the number of times people need to contact their GP surgery for an appointment, and the uncertainty around when they might be seen.
The government also says it listened to GPs’ concerns about workload pressures and day-to-day fluctuations in demand, and it will support GPs with guidance and public messaging to help address these challenges.
Healthwatch England's view
People often tell Healthwatch England that being asked to call back, or not knowing what will happen next, is one of the most frustrating parts of accessing GP care. Healthwatch England asked the government for clearer expectations about what GP practices should do instead, so patients know what will happen and when.
2. Clinically urgent requests should get a same-day response
The new contract explicitly requires that requests judged by GPs or other appropriately trained professionals to be clinically urgent must receive a same-day response. In 90% of cases, the government wants same-day care delivered to these patients.
This change does not always mean a face-to-face appointment will be offered that day, but it should mean you are assessed and told what happens next.
Healthwatch England's view
The public strongly supports timely help when they have an urgent problem. Healthwatch England also emphasised that clear communication will be essential to help patients understand what counts as clinically urgent and what a same-day response might involve.
3. Online request systems should not cap requests during core hours
The contract prevents practices from capping the number of requests that can be submitted by patients through online consultation systems during core hours. This is intended to reduce the experience of online forms being closed partway through the day, which can push people onto busy phone lines or force them to try again later.
The government says this change is about ensuring that people can choose their preferred booking method - whether online, phone or walk-in – and know any of these options will be available during core opening hours. This aims to help reduce inequalities – for example, allowing working people who can’t phone and wait for the GP practice to answer, to instead submit an online request during a break.
Healthwatch England's view
Choice of booking method matters to patients. Our research found that under a third (30%) of people say they are always given a choice of booking method for appointments, and around one in six (16%) say they are never given this option. Keeping online routes available can help, but it should sit alongside accessible phone and in-person options, not replace them.
4. Practices must clearly show how and when you can contact them
The contract will require practices to display opening times for walk-in, telephone and online consultations on their website, in practice leaflets and in the practice building. As a minimum, the opening times must be 8:00 am to 6:30 pm, Monday to Friday.
The government says this is intended to improve transparency for patients and make information more consistent.
Clearer information should reduce confusion about when appointments are available and make it easier for patients to understand the options available to them.
Healthwatch England's view
People’s lives do not fit neatly into one way of accessing care. Making opening times and ways of booking appointments more transparent is a practical step towards helping appointments work around people’s lives, not the other way around.
“I think they should consider working people. Okay, even if you have a telephone appointment you may not be able to go somewhere private to take that phone call or take a phone call. There is no consideration for people who work, it’s really difficult … there’s not a lot of choice around people who work, so I think that should be improved.”
Story shared with Healthwatch Telford and Wrekin
5. Advice and Guidance will be used more often before referrals
Practices will be required to use Advice and Guidance before, or instead of, a planned care referral where clinically appropriate, in line with locally agreed referral pathways.
For patients, this could mean that, your GP seeks specialist advice before referring you straight to the hospital. The government says this can support timely specialist input and reduce unnecessary referrals, but it also acknowledges that careful implementation is needed to avoid adding pressure on GP practices.
Healthwatch England's view
Healthwatch England told the government that if Advice and Guidance is to become a ‘business as usual’ activity, there needs to be an evaluation of how it has worked so far to check that it is not unnecessarily delaying people from seeing a specialist.
Healthwatch England also called for clarity on how Advice and Guidance is used. This includes publishing information on how long patients have to wait for Advice and Guidance responses and for GPs to clearly inform patients when they are on an Advice and Guidance pathway, and that this means they have not been formally referred for a specialist appointment.
6. Registration goes online, and vulnerable people won’t lose their registration
Registration
The contract will require the use of the national online registration system for all patients joining a surgery for the first time.
If you can’t use the online form, you can bring in a paper registration form, and the practice staff will have to enter the information into the national online system. The government says it is intended to streamline registration processes and reduce variation between practices, with protections for non-digital and assisted routes set out in guidance.
List cleansing
The government has also decided to retain a three-month grace period before removing people from their GP list if national data suggests they’ve left the country. We had warned that immediate removal risked mistakes, especially for people who moved more often or were vulnerable, for instance, living in temporary accommodation.
Healthwatch England's view
Healthwatch England raised concerns about what data would be used, the risk of mistakes, and the potential impact on vulnerable groups, and urged safeguards and an equality impact assessment. The government’s reasons for not proceeding closely reflect these concerns, and Healthwatch England are pleased that they listened to their feedback.
How does the contract aim to improve the quality of clinical care?
The contract offers some new incentives to GPs to ensure:
- More babies and children are immunised against viruses such as measles
- More eligible patients are offered weight loss injections and support programmes
- They deliver overdue routine vaccinations to care home residents
- Practices identify and prioritise patients who need continuity of care
What will happen next?
The six key changes Healthwatch England highlighted in this article focus heavily on the ‘front door’ of general practice, but patients’ experience will still depend on whether practices offer meaningful choices and communicate clearly. As one person told us:
“I just go with the flow… I’ve learned to work around the NHS.”
These changes matter, but what counts is whether they will improve people’s experiences. The government says it will strengthen supporting guidance and patient-facing communications, including reviewing the You and Your General Practice guide.
Healthwatch England will be listening to what people tell them about whether these changes reduce repeat contacting, improve clarity about next steps, and protect choice and accessibility, especially for the most vulnerable groups.
