Dr Gareth Oelmann, chair of BMA Cymru Wales’ GP Committee said:
“The decrease in full time equivalent (FTE) GPs and the increase in those moving away from the partnership model is unsurprising in the context of current financial challenges faced by GP partners and their staff.
“We remain concerned that this growing trend will impact the continuity of care provided by GP partnership which was recently proven to improve patient care overall.
“It’s also concerning for us to see another eight surgeries close their doors in the last 18 months resulting in even more pressure on GPs.
“The high turnover of practice admin staff also chimes with the experiences of our members. Under-investment in GP services has meant partners have been unable to provide competitive pay, leaving staff with no choice but to look for employment elsewhere.
“General Practice is in desperate need of a fairer portion of NHS funding to ensure practices can keep their doors open.
“This year we will reach the avoidable and harmful milestone of 100 surgery closures, unless general practice gets an urgent lifeline as outlined in our Save Our Surgeries campaign.
“If general practice were given a fairer portion of the NHS funding in Wales, closer to the high level and complexity of demand on services it could thrive and significantly improve the health of its communities.
“Last year alone, thanks to their remarkable efforts staff working in general practice in Wales managed 27 million telephone calls, offered 19 million appointments, provided 65 million prescriptions, and referred 1.3 million patients to secondary care.
“The current level of funding makes this vital work unsustainable”.
Ends
