The UK Government has announced the rollout of general practitioner (GP) online access at nearly all practices in England to benefit patients.

Following the rollout, 98.7% of practices in England now provide online access.

These changes allow submission of online consultation requests by patients during core working hours.

In October, patients submitted eight million online requests, a one-fifth increase on the previous month and two-thirds higher than the same period last year.

The government has highlighted that improved access to GP is viewed as a key measure to alleviate pressures on other parts of the health system, particularly during winter.

Around four million patients currently attend accident and emergency (A&E) department annually with non-urgent issues due to difficulties accessing GP services, increasing demand on hospital resources.

The online consultation option is expected to offer flexibility and convenience for patients, while also assisting the health service through the busy winter period.

Online access is also expected to free up GP phone lines and make it easier for patients to contact their surgery.

Of 6,207 GP practices, 5,981 confirmed their online consultation tool is active during core hours, as per contract regulations.

Integrated care boards regularly review compliance, and NHS support continues for practices still working to implement the system.

Support for GP practices includes webinars and input from GPs and staff experienced in service redesign.

NHS Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: “In the 21st century, patients expect to be able to manage healthcare at their fingertips, and so they should. We organise so much of our lives online, there’s no reason the NHS should be any different.

“I want to thank GPs and their teams for rolling this out. Eight million patients used online access in October alone, taking advantage of the flexibility and convenience. These numbers show there was huge appetite from patients and a can-do attitude from GPs.

“We promised to end the 8am scramble, and this is a massive step towards that ambition.”

Last month, the NHS launched new digital technologies to provide faster and more convenient home-based care for patients.