As a GP Practice, we are having to make difficult decisions that will affect the level of service we can deliver to our patients.
The income we receive from Welsh Government to provide medical care to patients is insufficient for us to carry on providing the current range of services.
Regretfully, you will see changes in the way services are delivered and the range of services we can provide.
For every patient registered with the practices we receive just £111.40 each year and in return, we offer unlimited medical appointments and advice to our patients.
Recent activity data shows that last year (22/23) alone, GP surgeries in Wales received a total of 27 million phone calls, with 19 million appointments offered, 1.3 million referrals to secondary care made and a total of 56 million prescription items issued all within a population of 3 million.
For the vast portfolio of services that we offer in general practice in 2020/21 general medical services had only 6.1% of NHS Wales budget. The percentage of NHS funding spent on general practice has fallen by 30% since 2005 from 8.7% to 6.1%, while at the same time the services provided by the practice has increased.
The NHS has been chronically underfunded for years, and in primary care it has gone relatively unnoticed due to the dedication of GPs and practice staff to continue providing a service. The system is, however, on the brink of collapse and we can’t keep making up the shortfall for the NHS, we simply don’t have the capacity to do so. This saddens us as it is something we never thought we’d have to say.
We are, therefore, asking for your help and support. As given our rurality there are few other medical services locally to “prop up” the system if we are not here.
Please help us to secure a financial rescue package from the Welsh Government by signing and sharing this petition before it’s too late. You can also help us by contacting your local Member of the Senedd (MS) We have to work together to try to keep our surgery open and enable us to keep providing the current range of service.
If the situation doesn’t improve, we fear the surgery will close and the services we provide will be lost, and in a rural community such as ours there are limited alternative services to rely on or to replace us. Sign and share the petition https://petitions.senedd.wales/petitions/245944
Further information can be found here https://www.bma.org.uk/bma-media-centre/80-of-gps-express-patient-safety-concerns-as-gp-crisis-deepens-in-wales