One in three GP appointments is now carried out remotely - the highest proportion since the pandemic.
The latest NHS England figures show 33.3 per cent of consultations were conducted over the phone or online in June.
This is up from 30.9 per cent a year earlier and 28.3 per cent in June 2023.
Patient groups described the ‘slipping back into old ways’ as ‘very worrying’ and warned serious diseases such as cancer are once again at increased risk of being missed.
But family doctors said remote consultations ‘offer convenience and flexibility that many patients value’, and the majority of appointments are still delivered face to face.
