GPCW reaffirms commitment to Welsh dispensing contract overhaul

In its first call to action to the new Welsh Government, GPC Wales has reaffirmed its commitment to developing a new dispensing contract.

Speaking to the UK LMC conference in Belfast following Plaid Cymru’s May 7 overthrow of Welsh Labour, GPC Wales chair Dr Gareth Oelmann again pledged to modernise dispensing arrangements to protect rural sustainability.

He said the argument for investment in general practice in Wales “had landed” with previous Senedd health ministers.

The settlement in December 2025 secured benefits including £41.9 million of recurrent investment, a 4 per cent pay uplift for partners, and an increase in expenses uplift to recognise unavoidable cost pressures. For dispensing practices, there is also a pledge to modernise dispensing arrangements, informed by input from the DDA.

Speaking to the DDA podcast ahead of the May 7 elections, GPC Wales Deputy Chair Dr Ian Harris said that a devolved dispensing contract was among the arrangements under review.

He said GPCW would press for further progress from the new Senedd by June.

In Wales, around 18 per cent of practices had some dispensing element to their contracts, serving around 6 per cent of the Welsh population.

Speaking to the conference, Dr Gareth Oelmann said: “There is an opportunity, but also a risk: opportunity, because there is genuine political appetite to reset relationships with general practice; but risk, because ambition without delivery will deepen the crisis.”

He said that priorities for the year ahead included: