Part of 2. 2. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Well-being and Sport – in the Senedd at 3:00 pm on 9 November 2016.
Thank you for the point. I think part of the challenge in understanding what’s happening in primary care is understanding what we mean by primary care spend, as well. I’ve seen a range of figures. There’s obviously campaigning, lobbying and, quite rightly, scrutiny about the amount of money that we spend and the share of money that we spend. For example, we spend in primary care spend 13.7 per cent of our budget, compared with Scotland spending 11.8 per cent. That’s drawn from comparative figures that the Royal College of General Practitioners in Scotland accept as properly representing primary care. So, it isn’t just a general medical services spend.
I think, though, that rather than getting lost in talking about a set percentage of the health budget or a set sum of money, we need to be focused on what is our vision and expectation for the future of healthcare services. How will they be delivered? If more care is going to be delivered within the community and closer to home, we need to shift our resources. Those resources are in some parts financial, but, actually, a lot is about the staff that we have and the way that we use and remodel our primary care estate to be able to deliver that service. I’m interested in delivering the right service, in the right place, at the right time and having resources that enable us to do that. That will see a shift in resource. That’s where my priority is, rather than having a set point at which I say, ‘I want x amount to go into primary care or secondary care,’ because I don’t think that’s necessarily the right way to run and manage the service.