People across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight are seeing improved access to their local GP practice, with figures showing record numbers of appointments taking place each month.
October 2025 saw the highest number of GP appointments on record, with more than 1.2 million delivered in a single month. Appointment numbers have remained consistently high into the new year. In January and February demand continued to be high, with the monthly average now over a million appointments across Hampshire and Isle of Wight for the first time.
While GPs are still the core of practice teams, they are now supported by a wide range of skilled professionals. Depending on their needs, patients may be offered an appointment with a specialist such as a mental health practitioner, a paramedic, an advance nurse practitioner, a pharmacist, a physiotherapist or a dietician.
These are all experts who are specially trained to provide advice, diagnosis, and treatment for patients. This approach not only improves access but also helps ensure patients get the right care sooner, reduces pressure on GPs, and expands the range of services available closer to home. They can also offer more specialist advice and care for conditions that GPs could not do alone.
James Roach, Director of Primary Care and Local Care at NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight, said: “Demand for primary care continues to grow and our practices are responding by working more collaboratively than ever before. General practice today is delivered by a skilled multidisciplinary team and that means patients can often be seen more quickly by the professional best placed to help them.
“As well as improving access, we are strengthening our focus on prevention, helping people stay well for longer and shifting our efforts from treating sickness to preventing it.
“We are incredibly proud of the progress being made and the commitment our teams show every day to meeting the needs of our communities. We would also like to thank our patients for willing to engage with new services.”
In addition, more patients are using the Community Pharmacy First Programme with 26% more appointments in community pharmacy for minor illness than the year before.
If you’re confident using smart phones or computers, you can book or cancel routine non urgent consultations and appointments, order repeat prescriptions, and see your test results online. If you use the NHS App, turn on notifications so the practice can contact you more easily.
Options to call the practice directly remain for those patients who are unable to access online services.
For more information about the different professionals working in GP practices and how they can help, visit: It Takes A Team :: NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight
