NHS data shows that in the North West in December 2025 more than three-quarters of a million people accessed support from their general practice using online forms, but this rose by nearly 40% in January, to over a million.

Latest published data on appointments in general practice showed practices across the region delivered over 3.8m appointments in the first month of 2026, with 2.3m of those held face-to-face.

Dr Paula Cowan is a local GP and regional medical director for primary care at NHS England in the North West, said: ‘Providing additional ways of accessing general practice means it will be easier for people to get in touch with us. So for those people who like to use online services, having access to online forms will be great for them, but we'll still be contactable, as always, by other routes too.'