A scheme set up by NHS England to improve access to appointments for patients has attracted 250 bids for just nine pilots, meaning that some strong contenders could miss out on funding.

The head of NHS England’s primary care commissioning, Dr David Geddes, said that his area teams had been inundated by applications for the pilots but were impressed by many of the bids and were now seeking ways to develop ideas that will not receive challenge funding.

The Challenge Fund pilots are being set up to enable NHS England to work more closely with GP practices up and down the country to promote innovation, share learning and deliver the benefits to patients of extending access to services.

They will also explore a number of ways to extend access to GP services to better meet local patient needs, including longer opening hours, such as extended weekday opening and opening on Saturdays and Sundays.

They should also demonstrate greater flexibility about how people access general practice, for instance giving patients the option of visiting a number of GP surgery sites in their area, as well as promoting the use of technology to provide alternatives to face-to-face consultations, such as via phone, email, webcam and instant messaging, for example.

Particular emphasis will be placed on greater use of patient online services including online systems of patient registration as well as greater use of advice and help by phone and healthy living apps to help people manage their health without having to visit their GP surgery as often.

Meanwhile, particular attention will be given to GP practices that demonstrate flexible access through emails, Skype and phone consultations or offer easier online registration and choice of practice.