Nine in 10 people say patients with serious health conditions should be able to see the same GP, yet nearly two thirds report this has become harder in recent years, a poll has found.
The survey, conducted for the campaigning group Rebuild General Practice, found that 90% of the public support continuity of care in general practice, especially for vulnerable patients and those with serious health issues.
However, 62% of the 2,050 UK adults polled in January said it has become more difficult to see the same GP across multiple appointments over the past three years.
And more than four in 10 respondents (42%) said they were pessimistic about their practice meeting their needs over the next five years.
The survey also highlighted wider pressure on GP services, with 61% of respondents saying they have struggled to get a GP appointment in the last 12 months and 63% reporting that waiting lists at their surgery have grown over the past three years.
When asked about the single greatest challenge facing GP services in their area, 28% cited a lack of GPs, while 15% said there is too much focus on online and digital services.
The findings come as Rebuild General Practice launches a campaign urging patients to sign a petition calling on the Government to protect and rebuild general practice.
The campaign group, which comprises grassroots GPs from across England, Scotland and Wales, said the Government’s 10-Year Health Plan failed to protect continuity of care or address concerns about the shift towards digital-first access.
It warned that the plan risks ‘pushing the family doctor model past the point of no return’.
A spokesperson for the Rebuild General Practice campaign said: ‘The public has spoken clearly: people with serious health conditions should always be able to see a GP who knows them.
‘Continuity of care isn’t a luxury, it’s essential for safe, effective treatment, particularly for the most vulnerable.
‘Yet patients are telling us it is getting harder to see the same GP, harder to get an appointment, and harder to feel confident their practice will be there for them in the years ahead.
‘If the Government pushes ahead with its 10-year plan without urgently rebuilding general practice, we risk losing the family doctor model for good, and it will be the most vulnerable who pay the highest price.’
But a Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said that, as of January 2026, over three-quarters (76.8%) of patients reported that they find it is easy to contact their GP practice – a 15.9 percentage point increase since July 2024 (60.9%).
‘Fixing the front door to the NHS is at the heart of our 10 Year Health Plan, and our priority is to ensure general practice is properly resourced, attractive as a career, and able to deliver high-quality, continuous care for patients – not just now, but for generations to come,’ said the spokesperson.
They added: ‘To tackle the issues we inherited, we’ve already recruited more than 2,000 GPs in the last year alone, given primary care a £1.1 billion funding boost, boosted patient satisfaction, and rolled out online GP booking requests to ease pressure on services and end the 8am scramble.’
Last week, NHS England said there had been a ‘sharp rise’ in people contacting their GP via online tools, with new figures showing that practices received more than nine million online requests in a single month.
Earlier this year, research revealed that Government rules on online GP access – and the work needed to keep these systems functioning – are taking staff away from work that would be ‘more effective’.
