Written question WQ92327

We want to ensure that everyone in Wales can access GP services in Wales as quickly as possible, based on need.

In 2019, we invested £3.7m in digital telephone systems to make it easier for people to contact their practice. We have also provided £12 million in funding over three years from 2022 to support practices to increase their staff and capacity to improve access.

In line with our General Medical Services Access Commitment, practices should be adopting a blended model of access, where available appointments must be a mix of remote, face to face, urgent, on the day and pre-bookable.

95% of practices across Wales have said they are now providing the blended model of access. This will make it easier for older people to access appointments or be signposted to another service if appropriate.

To ensure that all those who need to see a GP – including older people or those with more complex health conditions – can do so, we have invested across primary and community services in order reduce demand on GPs. This includes Investment in Urgent Primary Care Centres and the 111 Press 2 for Mental Health service, as well as growing clinical community pharmacy services to create additional capacity for GPs. In 2022-23 pharmacies delivered almost 600,000 consultations and we estimate further growth this financial year equal to an additional 107,000 consultations taking place with a pharmacist, where 80% of people would otherwise have visited their GP.