5. Will the First Minister make a statement on GP recruitment in Wales? OAQ(5)0080(FM)

GP Recruitment is a priority for us. We are talking to GP representatives across Wales and are developing new models of care that will be attractive for GPs to work in.

Thank you, First Minister. The Royal College of General Practitioners tells us that we need 400 full-time equivalent GPs by 2020 if we are to provide good access for all primary care. It is concerning, therefore, that we are training just over 100 GPs a year in Wales, and just 13 per cent of trainee doctors spend any time in general practice. What will your Government do during the fifth Assembly to train more GPs in Wales?

Well, we have 2,887 GPs, which is 8 per cent up since 2005, and that shows that we’ve been investing in GPs. It’s not just about GPs; it’s the whole primary care workforce that’s important. Yes, we’re training GPs, but we’ll never train enough GPs purely to work in Wales; it’s been many, many, many decades since we recruited GPs entirely from within Wales. We have recruited from other countries; that will continue to be the case because medicine is an international portable qualification. So, it’s a question of training GPs—yes, that’s true; I understand the importance of that—but also continuing to ensure that qualified medical staff see Wales as an attractive place to live and work in.

Would the First Minister agree with me that, at present, there is a lack of status in being a GP, and that that includes the external image of the nature of the job, and also within the profession? Would the First Minister agree with me that, as part of the contribution to tackling the recruitment issue, we could look at issues such as ensuring that students at 16 and 17 years old are appealed directly to go into general practice specifically, rather than just into medicine more generally, and also that there is pressure to ensure that there is a higher status and more prestige to training to be a GP within wider medical training?

Well, surgeons would have a very different view on that. They would say that it should be more equal. But I understand the point. It’s extremely important that we also realise that the nature of the workforce is changing. There are fewer and fewer people who want to buy into a practice. They want more freedom to move across Wales. They don’t want to commit funding into a practice. Some still do; others don’t. So, what’s important is that we have a sufficient number of models available in Wales that will appeal to the greatest number of general practitioners, in order to ensure that there are ways of working that suit them, rather than thinking there’s just one way of working, which has been the same one for many years. We must ensure that there’s a structure that is broader, in order to recruit more people.