May 17th 2024

By Ailsa Colquhoun

Welsh SMs call for rural GP premium

Opposition politicians have called for a rural GP premium in Wales, in a debate on GP practices and funding.

In the Senedd debate, Welsh Lib Dem leader Jane Dodds highlighted the increased costs of GP service delivery in rural areas, due to "the unique operational challenges [of] no general hospital being nearby".

The debate heard that rural practices were bearing the brunt of an 18 per cent Welsh GP closure rate. Dodds said: "The reality is that our GP practices, especially in rural areas, are collapsing under immense pressures." 

Concerns about a sustainability crisis in general practice in Wales are echoed by RCGP Cymru Wales. Chair Dr Rowena Christmas said that some practice amalgamations had occured out of necessity rather than design, following the closure of smaller practices. These tend to be more financially vulnerable, she said. 

She also warned that Wales' GP network lacked the capacity to properly accommodate GP practice 'at-scale', warning against assumptions that practice amalgamations were a positive trend.

In response to the debate, Health and Social Care Secretary Eluned Morgan said that there is a £7,000 incentive payment to train GPs in rural areas.