Fewer than three quarters of GP appointments were face-to-face last month, according to new data released by the NHS.
The new statistics, which cover all practices across England, are an attempt to improve transparency so that patients can see how their practice compares to others. They will be released monthly.
Across the country as a whole, just 73.4% of GP appointments took place face-to-face in October.
At the worst performing practices, however, just 12.0% of appointments were face-to-face.
Only 38.9% of appointments were on the same day in England last month.
At least two practices saw no patients the same day.
Health and social care secretary Steve Barclay said: “We promised to prioritise patients and improve access and that is exactly what we have done – and this is just the start.
“I am determined to make it easier for people to get an appointment with their GP practice when they need one and this will allow patients to make a more informed choice about the care they receive.”
However, the average wait for an appointment in England was between two and seven days according to the data.
There were 13 practices though where the typical wait was 15 to 21 days.
Fewer than half of appointments at practices in England were actually with GPs according to the data, 45.8%.
Earlier Professor Kamila Hawthorne, chairwoman of the Royal College of GPs (RCGP), said: “We have serious concerns about how the publication of practice-level data will be used to compare practices against each other as with general practice you’re rarely comparing like with like.
"What works in one practice may not in another, so they will tailor their services to their patient population.
“We worry that this data will be used to create arbitrary ‘league tables’ that don’t account for different patient demographics and ways of working and those that appear at the bottom will face undue criticism at a time when the profession is already demoralised and working under intense pressures.
"We also understand that the data published on Thursday will be experimental, so it’s unclear how comprehensive or useful it will be.”
England practices with the 10 lowest percentages of face-to-face appointments
Practice: Percentage of appointments face-to-face
- QHS GP care home service: 12.0%
- SEL special allocation practice: 13.0%
- Bath road surgery: 14.0%
- Cranleigh gardens medical centre: 15.4%
- Cethesda medical centre: 16.1%
- PHL SAS service: 16.7%
- Ashburnham road surgery: 16.8%
- GP at hand: 19.6%
- Babylon GP at Hand Birmingham: 20.0%
- Woodlands & Clerklands Partnership: 23.0%
Practices with the 10 lowest percentages for same day appointments:
- Higher Ince Surgery: 0.0%
- Nightingale House: 0.0%
- Dr Sn Clay and Partners: 3.7%
- Lundwood Medical Centre PMS Practice: 5.2%
- Blaydon GP Led Practice: 8.3%
- The Ruiz Medical Practice: 9.0%
- Sheffield Medical Centre: 9.5%
- Unity Health: 10.7%
- Neasden Medical Centre: 11.2%
- Vernova Healthcare CIC: 11.3%
Practices with 10 lowest percentages of appointments with a GP
- Addingham Surgery: 0.0%
- Raj Medical Centre: 0.5%
- Ashville Surgery: 1.0%
- Cordwallis Road Surgery: 1.2%
- Dr Sn Clay and Partners: 4.7%
- Cutlers Hill Surgery: 5.0%
- Picton Medical Centre: 5.0%
- Wibsey & Queensbury Med p: 5.1%
- North Brink Practice: 5.3%
- Healds Road Aurgery: 5.3%
