Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy
Thinking Differently About Same Day Access: Qualitative Study of Primary Care Staff Experiences in England and Denmark
By Due TD, Ziebland S, Drivsholm TB and 1 others.
Abstract
Context
Rising demand for GP services alongside limited change in supply is placing unprecedented pressure on primary healthcare systems in many countries, including the UK and Denmark. The 2026 English GP contract requires practices to provide same day access to all patients considered to have an urgent need.
Objectives
To study primary care staff reflections on their experiences of prioritising same day access through different approaches, which their practices had chosen and adapted over months and years.
Design
A subset of three case studies (two in England, one in Denmark) from a larger focussed ethnography. These practices were selected for the sub-study because they all prioritised same day access but had developed different approaches. We draw on formal and informal interviews with staff and observations in the practices.