Maintaining and Improving Access to General Practice

From 1st August 2025, some GP practices (including Carlisle Healthcare) in  North Cumbria will be making changes to how certain healthcare requests are handled. (e.g. blood tests on behalf of hospital and specialist clinics). These changes aim to protect patient access and ensure the long-term sustainability of general practice services.

Patients are kindly asked not to contact their GP practice about these changes, unless advised otherwise. Practices will continue to support continuity of care and will provide direct information to anyone affected.

This decision comes in response to a significant and ongoing increase in appointment requests and clinical tasks requested by other healthcare providers. While GP practices have historically absorbed these additional tasks, they now account for an estimated 25–30% of the daily GP workload, impacting appointment availability for core services.

These changes are designed to ensure patients still receive appropriate care—often more directly from the specialist services managing their condition—while helping practices protect appointment availability and improve access for all.

Full information, including some videos on why these changes are crucial to protecting general practice, and a list of frequently asked questions can be found at:

Improving Access in General Practice :: Primary Care North Cumbria

For further information aboud specialist prescribing and shared care visit: /shared-care-agreements-august-2025

Published: Jul 22, 2025