SAM ROWLANDS, Member of the Welsh Parliament for North Wales, says comments from the British Medical Council Cymru should act as a ‘wake up call’ to the Welsh Government.
Mr Rowlands, Shadow Health Minister was commenting after the British Medical Association Cymru deputy chair of the Welsh Council issued a stark warning about the ’truly grim’ predicament facing GPs in Wales after years of severe cuts to funding.
Speaking at the BMA’s annual representatives meeting in Belfast, Dr Phil White, who is also a GP in North Wales, accused the Welsh Government of burying their heads in the sand about the crisis facing GPs and the potential impact this will have on an already severely stretched NHS in Wales.
Mr Rowlands, a harsh critic of the way in which the Welsh Labour Government runs the NHS in Wales has repeatedly called for more to be done to encourage and retain GPs in Wales.
He said: “Recently I have raised several issues in Welsh Parliament about the fall in the number of GP surgeries in my own constituency in North Wales and expressed my real concern over the handling of the crisis by the Welsh Labour Government.
“It was extremely worrying to hear the comments from Dr White and really should act as ‘a wake up call’ to the Welsh Labour Government.
“Two weeks ago Labour Senedd Members rejected the Welsh Conservative calls to improve GP access by adopting BMA Cymru Wales’ key campaign to ensure that every penny arising from the UK Government’s health spending is made available for our Welsh NHS.
“It is a scandal that all monies received from the UK Government for the NHS is not passed on to the service in Wales.”
Dr White said: “As a union we are stronger than ever, and we will do what it takes to fight for the service we all believe in. Despite this strength and progress made the predicament facing general practitioners in Wales is truly grim. The service hangs on a precipice, the funding has been slashed and Welsh Government continue to bury their heads in the sand.
“Continuing to ignore the vital role that General Practice plays in the national health service is a grave mistake. My message to Welsh Government is clear. Restore the proportion of the NHS budget which has been cut from General Practice or else it will collapse. If one part of the NHS crumbles, the rest will follow.
“Over the last ten years GPs have been expected to look after 33% more patients while the number of full-time GPs has decreased by 24%, with a fifth of all practices (nearly 100) closing their doors. Practices are finding ways to stem rising costs – with many reducing existing staff hours or stopping recruitment entirely which all adversely impacts on workload. This is a crisis.
“It is truly shameful, that GP surgeries are expected to run at a deficit, but health boards are simply bailed out by Welsh Government when they overspend” he added.
“Three years ago, we publicly called for significant investment in our health service as well as a radical shake-up to create a seamless service. The NHS, social care and community services must work in partnership to effectively meet the needs of patients. Today, I’m restating those calls – the public is behind us – but are the politicians listening?”
