Half of public delayed contacting GP as access concerns persist, poll finds

Nearly half of the public (48%) have delayed or avoided contacting their GP practice about a health concern in the past 12 months, according to the latest research poll from The Health Foundation and Ipsos published yesterday (25 February).

Access barriers appear to play a factor in this, with 30% of respondents who said they did not seek help reporting they did not expect to be offered a suitable appointment, while 17% believed it would be too difficult to contact their practice.

Other commonly cited reasons included 27% choosing to manage the issue themselves or wait for it to resolve, and 14% worrying they would not be taken seriously.

The findings form part of the organisations’ regular polling, which is conducted every six months, with the latest data drawn from a survey performed between 4–10 December 2025.

The Health Foundation and Ipsos also found that the public is open to alternative ways of accessing general practice, with support for measures aimed at easing pressure on GPs. In the polling, two-thirds (66%) said they support patients seeing other healthcare professionals, such as practice nurses or pharmacists, instead of a GP where appropriate. In addition, more than half (55%) said they would prefer to use online methods – such as the NHS App or a practice website – to contact their GP practice and book appointments.

Commenting on the findings, chief executive of the AOP,  Adam Sampson, said: “It’s clear that the public are reluctant to contact their GP because they have concluded the service is overstretched and inaccessible. This represents a risk not only to individual health outcomes, but will add greater strain on the Government’s commitment to improve the NHS by shifting healthcare out of hospitals into the community and from sickness to prevention.”

He continued: “Currently, primary eye care services are an under-utilised clinical resource. Every day, optometrists manage common eye conditions and eye problems on the High Street, and reduce avoidable pressure on GPs and hospital eye departments, playing a crucial role in identifying wider health issues – from diabetes to hypertension – through routine sight tests.”

Sampson emphasised that at a time when public confidence in accessing GP services is “fragile,” it is “vital that the Government acts to ensure that all patients can visit an optician in the community if they think they have an eye problem, in the same way the public can go to a community pharmacy for a range of health issues.”

The polling also found that improving access to GP appointments and A&E services are now the public’s joint top priorities for the NHS – making it easier to secure GP appointments (36%) and improving access to A&E (36%) ranked highest.

Sampson added: “With the right commitment from government, community optometry – just like community pharmacy – can do so much more to provide timely, local, NHS-funded care and ensure the public are not delaying treatment that could prevent avoidable sight loss.”

Through the AOP’s One million appointments campaign, it is calling on the Government and NHS in England to back a nationwide eye care service delivered through High Street opticians for common eye conditions and problems, to improve patient access.

A report by PA Consulting, Key interventions to transform eye care and eye health, co-commissioned by the AOP, Fight for Sight, Primary Eyecare Services and Roche, also highlights the untapped potential of primary eye care and its wider public health benefits.