GP practices across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight delivered more than 7.6 million appointments between January and July 2026, giving more local people timely access to care from their practice team.
This was an increase of over 768,000 appointments, 11% more than the same period last year.
Care from practices is provided by a multi-skilled team working closely with GPs. Depending on their needs, patients may see a GP or another healthcare professional, such as a nurse, clinical pharmacist, physiotherapist, paramedic, mental health practitioner or social prescriber.
The type of appointment offered depends on the patient’s needs and the most appropriate way for the practice team to provide care.
Face-to-face and online access working together
Face-to-face appointments remain a fundamental part of general practice and make up the majority of appointments, with 4.2 million taking place in person at practices.
More patients are also now benefiting from the convenience of online access to their practice for care where appropriate. Just under 750,000 appointments were provided online or through video conference, an increase of over 80% compared to the same period in 2025.
Same day access has also increased by 10%, with over 3.2 million appointments provided on the day of contact.
This improved access comes alongside an increasing number of patients accessing care from their local pharmacy, with hundreds of thousands of people accessing support for minor illness in the community.
James Roach, Director of Neighbourhood Health at NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight, said:
“GP practices across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight are delivering more appointments than ever before, including hundreds of thousands of additional GP and same-day appointments.
“Face-to-face appointments remain an important part of general practice, alongside telephone and online consultations.
“General practice is also evolving. GPs remain central to the care practices provide, but they are now supported by a much wider team of skilled professionals. These integrated teams are a foundation for neighbourhood health. By bringing professionals and services together around local communities, we can provide more joined-up care, offer more support closer to home and do more to prevent people from becoming unwell in the first place.”
“We know there is more to do to improve people’s experience of accessing care, but these figures show the significant progress being made by practices in responding to growing demand.”
Patients can contact their GP practice by telephone, in person or through its website or the NHS App. Practices assess requests so that patients can be directed to the most appropriate member of the team and the right type of appointment.
Patients are encouraged to provide as much information as they can when contacting their practice. This helps the team understand what support is needed and identify the most appropriate professional to help.
