GPs to play crucial role in 'transforming' Wales’ health service -Health Secretary

Health Secretary Jeremy Miles will emphasise the importance of strengthening the role of GPs in Wales to improve patient healthcare and address NHS waiting lists at a conference today (8 March).

Speaking at the Welsh Local Medical Committees Conference, Mr. Miles will say that the focus over the next year must be on transforming health service delivery to maintain care closer to home.

GPs will be given a more prominent role in managing waiting lists to cut delays and improve patient flow through the health system, including expanding diagnostic testing in communities.

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Continuity of care

A new initiative to support GPs in providing continuity of care will start with identifying the most vulnerable patients who would benefit from seeing the same health professional at each appointment. This will help improve outcomes for people with chronic conditions.

The Health Secretary will acknowledge that as more diagnostic and other procedures move out of hospitals and into community settings that resources will need to move too, and that health boards will be required to increase primary care spending to support this change.

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Pressures

The Health Secretary said: “It is vital we work together to address the pressures in our NHS by improving access patients have to the care they need, and the flow through our system.

“The role of GPs is fundamental to being able to bring the system back into balance.

“This is not about general medical services doing more and more but about designing a way of commissioning more services in a primary setting, in local communities but at a scale which is viable and sustainable.

“GPs play a crucial role in their communities. I want to work with them to develop a primary and community care offer that values the skills and expertise of general practice and gives GPs the tools to thrive and delivers the care patients need closer to home.”