In your report (May 14th) on the problems of patient access to GPs in York, you include the statement which has been much favoured by doctors over the last year, namely that they greatly value doctor-patient relationships and prefer face-to-face consultations, but are restricted by Government rules which insist that patients must be triaged, with a telephone discussion preceding any face to face appointment.

Doctors and professional bodies have repeatedly complained about this rule.

Well, all is changed. On May 13, NHS England sent a letter to doctors instructing them to make sure they are seeing patients in person and ‘respect preferences for face to face care unless there are good clinical reasons to the contrary’.

Are GPs pleased about this? No, many doctors and professional bodies are furious, predictably complaining that they lack time and resources, so patients will have to wait.

The fact is that GP services in York and elsewhere are not now fit for purpose.

Many practices have seized the Covid opportunity to set up bureaucratic barriers and complex online access systems to keep patients at bay and economise on workload.

They hoped, as Matt Hancock also seems to, to let these become the norm when the Covid crisis is past. It is important now to see that practices follow the new NHS England rules, and that access is made simple and not obstructive.

Peter Hollindale

Grange Garth

York