Eight in 10 GPs in Wales say they have ‘significant concerns’ about whether their practices can survive financially, a survey by BMA Cymru Wales presented to the Government yesterday has revealed.
It also showed that 91% of GPs said they are routinely unable to meet patient demand since high workloads were affecting appointment availability. And 87% of GPs feared their rising workloads were having an impact on patient safety.
The survey findings were revealed to members of the Senedd yesterday during an event held to highlight the BMA’s Save Our Surgeries campaign, which is backed by practice managers and GPs.
The campaign is calling for an urgent rescue package for general practice by the Welsh Government.
The BMA wants the proportion of the NHS Wales health budget allocated to general practice to be ‘fairer’ and restored to the 2005/6 figure of 8.7% within three years, with an aspiration to increase the figure to nearer 11% in the next five years.
At present, only 6.1% is invested directly into the GMS contract, which the BMA says, isn’t sufficient and leading to practice closures – Wales saw its 100th GP surgery close this year.
The BMA Cymru Wales survey showed that:
- 80% of GPs expressed significant concern about the financial viability of their practice
- 53% of GP partners were planning their exit in the next three years and almost a third (31%) of salaried GPs intended to work less than full-time
- 73% of GPs would be prepared to take some form of industrial action unless immediate steps were taken ‘to restore a fairer portion of NHS funding’
- surgery closures (100 have closed since 2012, says the BMA) mean GPs now see up to 35% more patients each.
A letter, signed by 704 GPs, has also been sent to the Welsh health and social care secretary backing the call for more funding and asking for immediate action to save general practice in Wales from collapse.
Practice manager Gareth Thomas, Welsh lead for the Institute of General Practice Management (IGPM), said that ‘now is the time’ to prioritise general practice’.
‘Restoring the proportion of the NHS budget spent in general practice is paramount to secure the long-term financial sustainability for GP practices and enable GPs and their teams to provide the level of access that patients expect and deserve,’ he said.
He added: ‘Now is the time for the Welsh Government to prioritise General Medical Services before it’s too late.’
As well as increased investment, under the rescue package, the BMA wants to see a national standard for a maximum number of patients that GPs can deal with per day, a workforce strategy to improve retention and recruitment of GPs and measures to address staff wellbeing.
Meanwhile, BMA Cymru Wales is also taking action amid delays to negotiations on the GP contract 2024/25.
Dr Gareth Oelmann, chair of GP Committee Wales, wrote to the first minister earlier this month requesting urgent progress be made on negotiations and warning that it is ‘evaluating all available options’ for a dispute if there’s not a prompt response.
The delay is ‘unacceptable’, his letter said, since it creates uncertainties for GPs and staff particularly since contract negotiations for 2023/24 were also delayed before ending without agreement in February.
