8am scramble

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The 8am scramble, also known as the 8am rush, is a phenomenon associated with GP practices in the United Kingdom. In it, GP practices would open both their phone lines and online triage interfaces for new appointments promptly at 8am, and almost immediately close them again once the practice was "at capacity" for that day, acting as a de facto form of healthcare rationing. This was a major cause of patient dissatisfaction. [1] This particularly affected older patients, who found it hard to compete in the "scramble". [2]

This was caused by the combination of increasing patient needs due to an aging and expanding population, and lack of GP capacity due to retirement and lack of new supply. Those patients who failed to get a place in the "scramble" would either be forced to join the scramble the next day or seek treatment at urgent care or accident and emergency facilities. According to the UK government, 6.6% of patients unable to book GP appoinments would seek emergency care rather than GP care as a result of this, further overleading emergency services. [3]

On the introduction of the NHS app, the "scramble" phenomenon was seen there also, caused by patient familiarity with having to call at 8am. [4]

In October 2025, the government ordered that practices would be required to keep their online booking interfaces open from 8am to 6:30pm Monday to Friday, in an attempt to eliminate the 8am scramble. [5] [3] This was part of the introduction of a new GP contract that provided extra resources for GP practices to deal with increased patient load. [6]

References

  1. ↑ "GPs in England strike deal to help end '8am scramble' for appointments". BBC News. 2025-02-28. Retrieved 2026-01-18.
  2. ↑ Donnelly, Laura; Parker, Fiona; Butcher, Ben (2024-09-14). "Elderly ringing GP for help are 'giving up' on NHS treatment after failing to get through". The Telegraph. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 2026-01-18.
  3. 1 2 "Online GP appointment requests available everywhere from today". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2026-01-18.
  4. ↑ Dresner, Josh (14 October 2019). "Why is there an 8am rush on the NHS App?". NHS England Digital. Retrieved 2026-01-18.
  5. ↑ Vesty, Helena (2025-10-01). "What do the new rules for GP surgeries mean for patients and doctors?". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 2026-01-18.
  6. ↑ "GPs accept deal to end '8am scramble' for appointments". itvX. 28 February 2025. Retrieved 18 January 2026.


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