The British Medical Association (BMA), which represents tens of thousands of General Practitioners in the UK, this week threatened new strike action amid increasing tensions with the Starmer government.

Further walkouts are also being considered by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), as the country’s healthcare professionals demand reform, pay increases and changes to the Health Secretary’s new 10-year plan for the NHS.

This, inevitably, will have a downstream effect on the nation’s patients already facing weeks-long wait times for GP appointments, and, thanks to unyielding backlogs, will mean even less time available for their primary care.

In 2023, in response to research by the Liberal Democrats that found almost 1-in-5 GP appointments in the UK lasted five minutes or less, Professor Kamila Hawthorne, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: “Years of underfunding and inadequate workforce planning means that GPs and our teams are struggling to see all the patients who need our care and give them the time they need, especially when seeing 50 or more patients in a day, which many GPs report is a common occurrence.”

As a result, increasing numbers of patients are now seeking alternative treatment routes, including private healthcare and medical cannabis. Yet, for some patients, consultation lengths continue to be a point of concern.

Pressure points and patient access

In the medical cannabis sector, this is happening for very different, often unethical reasons. With so few medical professionals trained, qualified, or willing to issue an initial prescription, there is increasing pressure on prescribers’ time. Some, however, have taken advantage of that pressure.

In the rapidly expanding Australian market, a recent regulator investigation uncovered what it described as troubling prescribing patterns. Leaked documents revealed that just eight doctors at one major clinic issued over 245,109 prescriptions over the last two years. The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) has since taken formal action against 57 prescribers, with 20 more under investigation.

As demand for medical cannabis grows in the UK, some clinics now claim to onboard over 1,000 new patients a month. With that growth comes scrutiny, especially over clinical consultation times. Some providers reportedly complete consultations in under three minutes, raising concerns about quality and safety.

Releaf, one of the UK’s fastest-growing clinics, argues that scale and safety need not be mutually exclusive.

“At Releaf, we operate at scale. But we do so with clinical depth, governance, and human care,” the company told Business of Cannabis.

Balancing scale with quality care

Research suggests that the length of consultations in healthcare, especially in primary care, is a key factor influencing the quality and outcomes of patient care. What’s more, short consultations have been shown to increase physician stress and job dissatisfaction.

“We trialled shorter consultations,” explained Dr Sue Clenton, Releaf’s Clinical Lead. “Initial appointments were cut to 20 minutes, but it quickly became clear that this approach wasn’t working. Clinicians found it difficult to build rapport, and patients felt the experience was too rushed.”

Releaf now encourages prescribers to take the time they need. “There are no penalties for longer consultations,” Releaf’s Chief Operations Officer, Graham Woodward, continued. “If someone runs over, we adjust the schedule. Nobody’s burning out.”

Right now, NHS GP appointments average around 9-10 minutes. Other private routes are available, such as psychiatry and pain clinics, but at considerable cost to the patients.

“Some clinics claim they can consult in under 3 minutes, or never actually speak to the patient,” said Woodward. “We strongly reject that model. In our view, new patients need at least 20–30 minutes. Safety comes first.”

Releaf aims to offer an accessible middle ground, time-rich consultations at accessible pricing.

As Dr Clenton explains: “We allocate 20–30 minutes for all initial consultations. If the case is complex — say, with mental health concerns or multiple medications — we give even more time, or escalate to a second opinion. There’s no rush.”

Follow-up appointments are scheduled for 10–15 minutes, while repeat prescription reviews may be shorter — but only where clinically safe.

“We’ve had GPs tell us that our follow-ups take longer than their entire patient slots — including walking the patient in.”

Woodward added: “Even repeats aren’t rubber-stamped. Every renewal is assessed against symptom tracking and outcome measures. Patients can also request a follow-up at any time.”

How can clinics find this balance?

Both clinicians agree that the key lies in preparation and systems, and Releaf utilises its HealthTech platform to help ‘front-load’ appointments.

“Patients complete pre-consultation triage, symptom severity scores like the EQ-5D, and we access their full clinical history before the call begins,” Woodward continued.

Dr Clenton adds: “We also use proformas with guided questions and pre-filled data,” Dr Clenton explains. “That gives clinicians structure without being rigid — and ensures nothing gets missed.”

“High-risk or vulnerable patients — including those in palliative care or with substance use histories — receive additional oversight. “Some are made ‘assisted patients, meaning we check on them more frequently and tailor the care model.”

Releaf’s HealthTech platform is built to minimise admin and maximise clinical time, by integrating ‘triage tools, automated reminders, outcome measures, and structured templates’, helping streamline the consultation and give Releaf’s team more space to focus on what matters.”

“It’s not just tech for tech’s sake,” says Dr Clenton. “It’s designed to support better care.”

This approach is already helping patients find the attention and care they deserve.

“Our reviews consistently say patients feel listened to,” Dr Clenton shares. “They often compare us favourably to NHS GPs, saying they finally felt heard.

“For complex cases, second opinions are usually requested by Releaf, if a patient says something that worries us…we may refer for a psyche review if appropriate.”

“Patients deserve fast access,” she concludes, “but not at the expense of safety or dignity.”