A total of 34% practice managers and GPs in England would be willing to close their surgery for a day in protest at online access changes that took effect from October, survey results have revealed.
The Management in Practice survey conducted with our sister title Pulse also highlighted that as part of collective action, almost half (48%) of respondents would be prepared to redirect patients to A&E.
More than a quarter (28%) of the 431 respondents said they would be willing to stop online consultations completely.
Meanwhile, the most popular forms of collective action were setting up an autodivert messages time online (72%) and closing online consultations early (69%) – see results below.
From 1 October, surgeries have been required to keep their online consultation tool open during core hours (between 8am and 6.30pm) as a minimum for non-urgent appointment requests, medication queries and admin requests.
Survey results released previously showed that GP practices in England are spending the time equivalent of almost 210,000 appointments a week managing the reforms.
Practice managers and GPs have also warned that new requirements around online requests are risking patient safety as urgent clinical problems are being flagged via online forms.
On the collective action, one practice manager in West Sussex commented: ‘[ We ] would always consider ‘action’. Mondays are unmanageable with the number of online forms seen – double any other weekday, at least. Patients are also walking in asking for an appointment even though we are not an ’emergency service’.
Another said: ‘We would consider all options if needed. We have found that turning the system off doesn’t help us, it just creates a problem on the phones or at reception instead.’
The BMA has formally entered a dispute with the Government over the changes and GP leaders recently voted in favour of refusing to engage with the requirements as part of collective action against the Government.
One GP respondent commented: ‘I have been very much “testing the grounds” with my patients asking what they thought. The latest changes have not [been met with] with positivity as far as I can see and hear. I cannot recall a single patient who came to me pleased by the digital interface.
‘Any form of collective action would be sensible. I cannot see any patient who is actually happy with the way things are going.’
Others responding to the survey said the system was ‘a joke’ as increased online access has meant patients ‘are sending in trivial requests sometimes twice a day’. One GP added: ‘It also means one clinician every session has to be allocated solely to triage. We are even getting queries when patients are abroad, and they get upset if we cannot answer them.’
Another GP said: ‘I feel extremely strongly that this new contract is detrimental to patient safety and clinician workload that I would be prepared to participate in industrial action.
‘After 20 years as a GP loving her job I am seriously considering my future in NHS general practice as I do not find this new contract sustainable nor safe.’
The results revealed showed a significant portion of respondents not prepared to take action, however. For example, 36% said they wouldn’t close close for a day; 30% said they wouldn’t be prepared to redirect patients to A%E and more than half (53%) said they wouldn’t stop online consultations completely.
One practice manager said: ‘I would be reluctant to support any form of collective action, as the resulting impact on general practice would ultimately increase pressure on frontline staff. In addition, any disruption is likely to create a backlog of work that our doctors and care navigators would then have to manage later.’
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: ‘This data only represents a very small minority of GP practices and is not reflective of the national picture.
‘The majority of GPs have rolled out online access successfully – a service which patients want and rightly expect in the 21st century, and we are supporting the remaining practices in getting this up and running through guidance and seminars.
‘We are supporting GPs by providing a funding boost of £1.1 billion, recruiting 2,500 more GPs and cutting red tape, as well as launching a review into the distribution of GP funding – and have placed them at the heart of our 10 Year Health Plan.’
This survey was open between 18 and 24 October 2025, collating responses using the SurveyMonkey tool. The survey was advertised to readers of Pulse and Management in Practice via our website and email newsletter, with a prize draw for a £250 voucher as an incentive to complete the survey. The survey was unweighted, and we do not claim this to be scientific – only a snapshot of the GP and practice manager population. These questions were answered by 431 respondents in total, including 313 GPs and 118 practice managers.
