Petition · past parliament
Allow patients the CHOICE of seeing a GP face to face
Rejected
11 signatures
What the petition asks
Rapid progression of GP's not seeing patients face to face. Diagnosing without physical examination and/or tests. Patients forced to accept phone consultations and if the GP then decides a further face to face is needed this has delayed diagnosis.
This process is causing stress to patients
This process is causing stress to patients
It is causing undue stress to people who are not well or have worries about their health.
Potentially causes delays in diagnosis if a GP decides after a phone consultation that a face to face is needed.
Could cause misdiagnosis without a physical examination
Other underlying health issues could be missed without a physical examination
Doctoring is about human contact
Potentially causes delays in diagnosis if a GP decides after a phone consultation that a face to face is needed.
Could cause misdiagnosis without a physical examination
Other underlying health issues could be missed without a physical examination
Doctoring is about human contact
Why it was rejected
It was not clear what the petition asked the UK Government or Parliament to do.
Government guidance allows for GPs to see patients face-to-face if necessary: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/social-distancing/using-the-nhs-and-other-health-services/.
Whether a GP invites patients to attend an appointment in person is a clinical decision for them, their surgery, and the Clinical Commissioning Group to which they belong, not the UK Government or Parliament.
You may like to sign this petition which calls for a related action: Fund an increase in GP surgeries to ensure access
You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:
www.gov.uk/coronavirus
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
The Government has also created an online service to help you find out what you can do if you’re struggling because of coronavirus: https://www.gov.uk/find-coronavirus-support
You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips
You can read impartial analysis of the Government response to coronavirus and policy developments here: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/coronavirus/
You may also be interested to know that because of the large number of petitions that have been started in relation to coronavirus, the Petitions Committee has been questioning the Government about its response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Find out more: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/192/the-governments-response-to-coronavirus/
Whether a GP invites patients to attend an appointment in person is a clinical decision for them, their surgery, and the Clinical Commissioning Group to which they belong, not the UK Government or Parliament.
You may like to sign this petition which calls for a related action: Fund an increase in GP surgeries to ensure access
You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:
www.gov.uk/coronavirus
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
The Government has also created an online service to help you find out what you can do if you’re struggling because of coronavirus: https://www.gov.uk/find-coronavirus-support
You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips
You can read impartial analysis of the Government response to coronavirus and policy developments here: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/coronavirus/
You may also be interested to know that because of the large number of petitions that have been started in relation to coronavirus, the Petitions Committee has been questioning the Government about its response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Find out more: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/192/the-governments-response-to-coronavirus/
Timeline
| 18 Nov 2020 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 26 Nov 2020 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
11
Status
Rejected
Rejected
26 Nov 2020
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.