Action needed to strengthen GP workforce says Assembly Committee

Published 20/02/2015   |   Last Updated 20/02/2015

The National Assembly for Wales' Health and Social Care Committee has outlined a number of actions it says are needed to ensure GP recruitment, training and retention keep pace with modern demands on primary care.

In a letter to the Minister for Health and Social Services, the Chair of the Committee, David Rees, set out nine recommendations produced after considering written and oral evidence from the Wales Deanery, the British Medical Association Cymru Wales, and the Royal College of General Practitioners.

David Rees said: "The Committee heard that the role of GPs in Wales is changing. Our population is experiencing more long-term conditions and multi-morbidities. And we all have higher expectations about the care we should receive.

"GPs' workloads are increasing, and they now have to lead a wider team of other specialists to deliver appropriate care.

"The Committee found that the Welsh Government needs to reconsider the number of training places for GPs, ways to increase the attractiveness of general practice as a career, and options for retaining GPs, including those approaching retirement, within the Welsh NHS workforce. We hope the Committee's findings will help inform the Welsh Government's forthcoming primary care workforce plan."

Further information about the inquiry, including the evidence considered by the Committee