New polling suggesting nearly half of the public avoided contacting GP about health concerns should ring ‘alarm bells’ for the government, a health charity has warned.
The survey by the Health Foundation and Ipsos found that 48% of people said they had delayed or avoided contacting their GP practice about a health concern in the previous 12 months.
The charity said the findings should ‘ring alarm bells for policymakers’ over the delivery of the government’s 10 Year Health Plan, as ‘persistent difficulties’ in accessing general practice risk undermining these ambitions.
It also said that recruiting and retaining enough GPs needs to be a priority for the government.
Tim Gardner, assistant director of policy at the Health Foundation, said achieving the government’s ambition to shift care from hospitals into the community ‘will only happen with strong foundations in general practice which needs investment and reform’.
He added: ‘These findings reflect the tough choices facing policymakers in turning around a struggling health service. The government has pledged to shift care from hospital to community, yet this will only happen with strong foundations in general practice which needs investment and reform.
‘Priorities include recruiting and retaining enough GPs, modernising general practice IT and buildings, and rapidly testing and evaluating new ways of delivering care – including balancing speed of access with continuity of care for patients who most need it.
‘Our findings signal that, too often, people are going without the care they need, which risks storing up health problems further down the line and placing more strain on an already stretched service.’
The poll found that the majority of people who avoided making contact with their GP did so due to perceived challenges linked to access.
Some 30% did not expect to be offered a suitable appointment, 17% thought it would be too difficult to contact the practice and 14% worried their request would not be taken seriously.
It also found that a quarter of people (27%) decided to manage the issue themselves or wait for it to go away.
Ruth Rankine, director of the Primary Care Network and neighbourhood lead at the NHS Confederation and NHS Providers, said: ‘Primary care is the “front door” for patients seeking care and plays a key role in the NHS’ much-needed shift towards prevention.
‘It is, therefore, disappointing that this polling shows that so many patients lack confidence in booking appointments with their GP due to concerns over access, choice and GP capacity.’
Ms Rankine said that the extra investment as part of the 2026/27 GP contract, published yesterday, will ‘go some way to addressing the concerns highlighted in the Health Foundation’s report’.
Professor Victoria Tzortiou Brown, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: ‘As care continues to shift from hospitals into the community, funding must follow the work.
‘This requires clear, fully costed plans to recruit and retain more GPs, expand capacity, and stabilise the workforce so that patients can feel confident they will receive timely, high-quality care.’
The poll was sent to 4,331 people in December 2025, with 2,214(51%) completing the survey.
An NHS England spokesperson said:‘GPs worked flat out to provide an extra nine million more appointments for patients last year, and the latest data shows that people are finding it easier to contact their local GP practice, but we know we need to go further.
‘That’s why we’ve upgraded thousands of phone systems, introduced online request forms to end the 8am rush and hired hundreds of more GPs.’
