How will the Cabinet Secretary address the fact that Wales has lost 51 full-time equivalent GPs between September 2023 and March 2024 given that a survey of RCGP members found that 37 per cent of GPs in Wales thought it unlikely they’d still be in the profession in five years?
While there has been a reduction in the number of full-time equivalent GPs, there has been an increase in the number of wider practice staff providing direct care to patients. The number of GP trainees has also continued to increase, with 199 recruited in 2023.
The Welsh Government takes the workload and wellbeing concerns of GPs and their staff very seriously. We continue to work with GP professional representatives and NHS Wales to ensure a sustainable future for general practice in Wales.
In May 2024, the Strategic Workforce Plan for Primary Care was launched by Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) and the Strategic Programme for Primary Care (SPPC) following an extensive consultation process with a wide range of stakeholders. It highlighted the increasing sustainability issues across primary care, including General Medical Services (GMS) driven by increasing demand for care and a range of issues impacting workforce supply including recruitment and retention challenges.
The plan is designed to develop sustainable workforce models that support the ambition of A Healthier Wales and the Primary Care Model for Wales and are based on evidence of what works with workforce wellbeing at the heart of all the actions.