Online Consultation in Core Hours – National Updated FAQs
The nationally revised and updated FAQs on Online consultation in core hours have just been published.
NHS England » Online consultations – frequently asked questions and support resources
These revisions provide clarification on a number of issues, for example:
- Patients should be able to submit both non-urgent clinical requests and admin requests during core hours
- Clinical contacts should not be limited to a specific number
- If the care needed by a patient falls under the scope of general practice, then practices cannot direct them to 111 within core hours
- Patients should receive an appropriate response on the day that their submission is made to the practice and know how their presenting issue will then be handled (if contact is made during core hours, or the following working day if not).
- Practices must not switch off online consultations during core hours, except in exceptional circumstances and in such instances they need to communicate with the ICB on this, in line with local operational procedures.
As previously informed, should you need pause online consultations in exceptional circumstances for patient safety reasons and in line with business continuity processes, you should contact nelondonicb.nel-primarycare@nhs.net and nelondonicb.primarycareplace@nhs.net . You should outline the reason for the pause and time period.
We are planning to organise a webinar in the coming months with the aim of supporting practices to maintain the online consultation requirement.
We have also provided some links below to useful comparative data and support resources.
National OC monthly figures: Submissions via Online Consultation Systems in General Practice – NHS England Digital
National Telephony monthly figures:Cloud Based Telephony Data in General Practice, October 2025 – NHS England Digital
Other useful NHSE resources: NHS England » Resources