HUNDREDS of GPs have called for an NHS England executive to quit over an “insulting” order for them to offer face-to-face appointments and an in-person reception desk.

Family doctors were sent a letter last week stating that physical appointments must be available from May 17.

The doctor-led pressure group GP Survival has responded with a petition in which they say they have “no confidence” in NHS England medical director for primary care Nikki Kanani, who signed the letter along with director of primary care Ed Waller.

The 354 GPs who had signed the petition by today morning called the letter “inflammatory and insulting” and demanded Dr Kanani resign or be removed from her post.

They said it was “insulting in the extreme” to the memories of those medical practice staff who died due to Covid-19 “to be told by a fellow GP that we must see patients face to face when there is ample evidence that we, as a profession, never stopped.”

Dr Kanani and Mr Waller cited the presence of Covid-19 symptoms as an example of a reason to refuse a face-to-face appointment.