Jessica O'ConnorGPs in Wales have welcomed findings from a Senedd inquiry into the future of general practice, describing the report as a “step in the right direction” for the sector.
The report, published by the Senedd’s Health and Social Care Committee, examined the long-term sustainability of general practice following concerns over funding, workforce pressures and patient access.
Responding to the findings, Dr Gareth Oelmann, chair of the BMA’s Welsh GP Committee, said: “We welcome the findings and recommendations from this inquiry, established in response to our ‘Save Our Surgeries’ campaign, which calls for immediate action to protect the future and sustainability of general practice.
“Today marks a significant step forward for our campaign, at the inquiry we shared evidence from GPs across Wales, explaining how years of funding cuts have had damaging consequences, with surgery closures, recruitment uncertainty, and a burnt-out workforce making it even more challenging for patients to access care.
“The publication of this report demonstrates a willingness to listen to and work with GPs, and we would now urge the next Welsh Government to take the recommendations from this report forward and work with us to create a sustainable future for general practice.”
The committee’s recommendations include strengthening efforts to prevent ill health and reviewing the current funding model for general practice.
Oelmann said: “Preventing ill health should be at the heart of this, and we’re pleased to see the recommendation to bolster efforts in this area as well as addressing and reforming the outdated funding formula, ensuring we have a budgetary mechanism that functions for Wales in 2026 and beyond.
“Ensuring patients receive timely and appropriate care is a shared goal of ours and we look forward to working collaboratively with the incoming Welsh Government to ensure we’re setting appropriate standards where GPs are able to best advise on the needs of their communities, and to address the long standing capacity issues that are the cause of access challenges for many practices.”
The BMA said it would continue to call for a greater share of NHS Wales funding to be allocated to general practice, alongside measures to support workforce recruitment and retention, improve staff wellbeing and introduce safeguards around patient demand.
Oelmann added: “To protect the future of the service in the long term, we will continue to seek a fairer portion of the NHS Wales budget spent on general practice, safeguards to protect patient and GP safety with a national maximum standard of patients per day, a workforce strategy to improve the retention and recruitment of GPs, and measures to address staff wellbeing.”
