Demand at GP surgeries in Bath and north east Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire jumped in June, figures show, with activity closer to pre-coronavirus levels.

The Patients Association welcomed the rising numbers of people accessing their local doctor across England but warned continuing use of remote sessions must not become “the new normal” without assessing the benefits to patients.

NHS Digital data shows patients booked 407,852 appointments with practices in the NHS Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire CCG area in June – 25% more than in May.

While this was still 3% fewer than during the previous June, demand in May was down by 28% year-on-year.

Across England as a whole, 20.6 million appointments were made in June – 4.3 million more than in May.

It means appointments in June were 11% lower compared to a year ago, while in May they had been down by 33%.

In Bath and north east Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire, 40% of sessions were completed over the phone in June, up from just 17% a year ago.

Nationally, 48% were conducted over the phone, compared to 13% last year.