Reform NHS GP Services in Wales – Move to Salaried GPs, Health Hubs, and Accessible Appointments
Rejected
26 signatures
Most GP practices in Wales are private businesses contracted to the NHS. This model creates fragmented care driven by business needs, not patients. The daily 8am phone scramble excludes working people, parents, and carers. Practices permanently cite demand as "higher than usual" - when this is constant, it is a system failure, not a spike. We call on the Welsh Government to move to salaried GPs, establish NHS Health Hubs, and introduce advance booking and extended hours.
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The private partnership model gives practices control over staffing, hours, and access, creating a postcode lottery across Wales. Salaried GPs under Health Boards would allow standardised access and strategic workforce planning. Small practices are fragile - one retirement can destabilise a surgery. Health Hubs would bring GPs, nurses, pharmacists, and mental health staff together in larger, resilient facilities offering team-based care and extended hours. The 8am phone-in model systematically excludes those who cannot call repeatedly each morning. Advance and online booking must become standard. When demand permanently exceeds capacity, benchmarks must be reset and capacity increased - not expectations lowered. Every patient turned away from a GP is potential pressure on A&E. Reforming primary care is the most effective way to protect the wider NHS in Wales.