Llyr Gruffydd MS Member of the Senedd for North Wales

Llyr Gruffydd MS has urged the Labour Welsh Government to adopt BMA Cymru Wales ‘Save Our Surgeries’ key campaign to restore funding for GP services to 8.7% of the existing NHS Wales budget.

Llyr Gruffydd said-

“GP practices are the gateway to the NHS. But as we are on the verge of witnessing the 100th practice closure in Wales in just over a decade, it’s a stark realisation that the sector is in crisis. We know that access to these services are symptomatic of capacity issues. It’s a vicious circle of GPs retiring earlier or leaving the profession due to increased workloads, leading to further strain on the remaining workforce. This is all symptomatic of chronic underfunding from the Labour Welsh Government who fail to even acknowledge the scale of the problem.”

Since 2012, the number of GP practices have dropped from 473 to 374, with a number of GP practices also being managed directly by health boards due to partners handing back contracts. The total number of GPs in Wales has also decreased by more than 400 in ten years due to increased work pressures and reduced budgets.

There is widespread disquiet across north Wales, as access to GP practices was a growing problem and that there were more health board-managed practices in the Betsi Cadwaladr region than in the rest of Wales put together.

Llyr Gruffydd added-

“A Plaid Cymru Government would recognise that the problems in our health service run deep and would take immediate action to address the problems in primary care. Alongside reversing a decade of cuts and restoring the general practice budget to 8.7% of the NHS spend, Plaid Cymru will work with the profession to develop a retention and training programme to recruit 500 more GPs over a two-term period. Bold action is needed more than ever to save our NHS.

“The problem is one for all parts of Wales but is particularly acute here in the North, where we have 13 managed practices and huge problems with GP practices in terms of recruitment and retention. In recent months I’ve met with GPs in the Deeside, Wrexham and Conwy areas and it’s clear that the Labour government has no vision to ensure that this essential part of the NHS is safeguarded and strengthened. We need bold action.”