The Welsh Liberal Democrats have branded it “unacceptable” that 40% of people find it difficult to make a GP appointment and called for more to be done to improve people’s access to GPs.
Ps play a vital role in the NHS in Wales and difficulty accessing GPs may push more people to use already overcrowded and under pressure hospitals.
The Welsh Liberal Democrats are calling for an Access to Primary Care Fund to improve access to GPs and other specialisms within primary care.
Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds, commented:
This report today makes for disappointing reading. It’s utterly unacceptable that 2 in every 5 people struggle to get an appointment with their GP when they need one.
The Welsh Government’s attempts to improve the situation have clearly not worked. We now we need to look at what more can be done to fundamentally address this issue. Failure to do so will mean more patients will be forced to rely upon already overcrowded A&E departments for treatment.
We’re calling on the Welsh Government to implement an ‘Access to Primary Care’ fund, which would support GPs, nurses and other healthcare professionals to innovate and deliver a better and more comprehensive level of service right across Wales.
Only by doing this can we keep our communities healthy and deliver the first-class healthcare service the people of Wales deserve.