BMA Cymru Wales calls for an urgent rescue package for GP practices to prevent further closures in Wales.
That’s the plea from BMA Cymru Wales’ GP committee. Their Save Our Surgeries campaign is seeking an urgent rescue package for general practice including a fairer portion of NHS funding to prevent further surgery closures in Wales.
A recent survey by BMA Cymru Wales has shown the distressing reality of a workforce on the brink of collapse: 91% of GPs are routinely unable to meet patient demand due to unsustainably high workloads. This has been exacerbated by the closure of 100 GP surgeries in the last 12 years, leaving fewer resources for patients and increasing the burden on the remaining practices.
The impact on patient safety
With fewer surgeries available, GPs are now seeing up to 35% more patients each, leading to unsustainably high workloads and burnout. This has raised significant concerns about patient safety, with 87% of GPs fearing that their rising workloads are impacting the quality of care they can provide.
The exodus of experienced GPs
The strain on the system is leading to an exodus of experienced GPs. Over half (53%) of GP partners in Wales are planning their exit in the next three years, and almost a third (31%) of salaried GPs intend to work less than full-time. This impending loss of experienced professionals will further exacerbate the crisis.
Over half (53%) of GP partners in Wales are planning their exit in the next three years, and almost a third (31%) of salaried GPs intend to work less than full-time.
The financial viability of practices
80% of GP respondents to BMA Cymru Wales’ survey expressed significant concern about the financial sustainability of their practice. The BMA’s GP committee in Wales attributes many of practice closures to sustained underinvestment. Only 6.1% of the NHS Wales budget is invested directly into General Medical Services (services provided by GPs), a reduction from 2005/06, when it was at 8.7%.
The call for an urgent rescue package
In response to this crisis, BMA Cymru Wales is calling on the Welsh Government for an urgent rescue package for general practice as part of its Save Our Surgeries campaign.
This includes seeking a fairer portion of the NHS budget, implementing a national maximum standard of patients per day to protect patient and GP safety, developing a workforce strategy to improve the retention and recruitment of GPs, and introducing measures to address staff wellbeing.
Dr Gareth Oelmann, chair of GPC Wales, said: ‘GPs from across Wales have shared their experiences with me, and we are all united in our fears about the future of general practice. GPs have told me about the impact on their own health and wellbeing and their huge concerns for their patients. It’s heartbreaking.
‘With 95% of GP respondents to our recent survey telling us they feel negatively about the future of the service and some only giving it a year to survive, inaction is not an option.
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‘I’m afraid without a fairer portion of NHS funding, the situation is grave, and if general practice fails, the rest of the NHS will follow.
‘Our patients are already seeking private healthcare because of the huge waiting lists in secondary care and we’re seeing this trend in primary care. Without immediate action, this inequity will only deepen, impacting on the most vulnerable in our communities.
‘We know that if general practice was given a fairer portion of NHS funding for the wide-ranging portfolio of services we provide, the NHS in Wales would have a far greater chance of success, and most importantly, benefit patients overall.
‘We’re asking for a rescue package to prevent further practices from closing their doors’.
The need for immediate action
Over 700 GPs recently co-signed a letter to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, asking for immediate action to save general practice from collapse. The survey also showed that 73% of GPs would be prepared to take some form of industrial action unless immediate steps were taken by the Welsh Government to restore a fairer portion of NHS funding
Voices from the frontline
The voices of GPs on the frontline paint a stark picture of the crisis. They speak of the daily struggle to meet patient demand, the impact on their own health and wellbeing, and their fears for the future of general practice. They describe a system that is ‘ beyond dire’ and express little hope that the NHS can be saved without significant intervention.
Dr Llinos Roberts and her GP partners were forced to hand back the keys to their partnership at the Tumble practice in Carmarthenshire where Llinos had been a partner for the past 12 years.
Devastatingly, a longstanding but unsuccessful struggle to recruit partners and salaried GPs meant the partnership could not provide stability to the practice, leaving her and fellow partners burnt out and the partnership in a precarious position.
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She said of the experience ‘For many years, we had unsuccessfully tried recruiting new partners and salaried GPs to our practice. For the last few years there were only three partners when we had previously been a stable six-partner practice. This meant working long hours trying to offer the best possible care for our patients. We were lucky to be supported by a fantastic team and will always be grateful for their dedication and hard work over this challenging period.
‘On my working days at the practice, I wouldn’t see my family: I would leave for work before they were up in the morning and arrived home sometimes as late as midnight. This pattern was unsustainable, and the work pressure was starting to affect my well-being.
‘Sadly, we had to make the difficult decision to give notice on the partnership. This decision was not taken lightly and caused considerable stress, worry and guilt, but ultimately, we felt we had no choice. We knew that we were delivering a good service for our patients but without a secure future we just couldn’t see a sustainable solution.
The current state of affairs is unsustainable and is impacting both the health of GPs and the safety of patients.
‘There appears to be a general shift towards larger multidisciplinary GP practices, and while I can see some benefit of this, I worry that the patient-doctor relationship will suffer as we see a demise in the smaller practices.
I believe in the importance of this unique relationship and feel that this style of care is effective and provides the best continuity’.
The crisis in Welsh general practice is a pressing issue that requires immediate attention and action. The current state of affairs is unsustainable and is impacting both the health of GPs and the safety of patients. It is crucial that the Welsh Government responds to the calls for a rescue package to prevent further practice closures and ensure the long-term sustainability of general practice in Wales.
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