Written question WQ93575
- Asked by
- Rhys ab OwenIndependent
- To be answered by
- Cabinet Secretary for Health, Social Care and Welsh Language
- Tabled
- Due
- Answered
- Time to answer
- 6 days
Question
What is the Welsh Government doing to improve the recruitment numbers of GPs?
Answer
Answered by Cabinet Secretary for Health, Social Care and Welsh Language
GPs and their teams are the front door to the NHS for many people, providing high-quality care close to home while managing the pressures of very high demand.
Our current GP trainee marketing campaign Train, Work, Live provides financial incentives to attract GP trainees to specialty training schemes in Mid, North and West Wales. These are areas where it has been historically difficult to recruit.
The GP specialty training programme has been significantly expanded over the past few years and there has been a significant increase in the fill rate for GP training. The current recruitment target of 160 new GP trainees each year is consistently being achieved.
This is further supported by increasing the numbers of GP trainers (circa 545) and training practices (circa 200) across Wales.
A total of 199 new GP trainees were recruited in 2023. This will have a direct positive impact on increasing the number of GPs caring for patients across Wales.