5. Will the Minister make a statement on access to GP services in Alyn and Deeside? OQ56720

GP practices across Wales are providing a wide range of options for patients to access services through the use of digital technology. Clinical triage is a key tool to ensure patients receive the care they need, at the right time, from the right person.

I thank the Minister for that answer. Access to GP services is an increasing issue in Alyn and Deeside, and this has been highlighted in recent weeks—twice, actually—at St Mark's surgery in Connah's Quay, where there is clearly a shortage of doctors, and in Queensferry, where residents are seeing their practice being moved, or potentially being moved, to Connah's Quay, because the current building is not fit for purpose. 

Minister, with this in mind, will you meet with the health board to address the issue at St Mark's and make sure they do have an adequate number of GPs? Will you also ask your officials to look into the potential of building a new purpose-built medical centre that serves Queensferry and the surrounding communities? 

Diolch yn fawr, Jack. I know there have been some issues in particular with surgery at Connah's Quay in recent weeks. I think some of the issues that we saw outlined there, where, actually, a message went out that the practice was actually closed, and advising patients to call an alternative number, that should not have happened. The health board is very aware of that. I think we've got to remember, of course, that our clinicians and our services are built on the people who deliver them, and they are also susceptible to falling ill, and that's what happened in this particular case.

And I think it's important that we have a situation where of course we're looking at the infrastructure relating to surgeries around Wales. I've got to tell you that there's a huge amount of work to do in relation to upgrading surgeries around Wales. We have a commitment in our manifesto to create twenty-first century surgeries. We're hoping to do that on a kind of hub system so that we're working with local authorities and other partners to put that in place. It will be up to the local health board to determine the priority in which those should be set out. So, we will be in further discussions with them, but we are looking for how we can fulfil that commitment that was very clearly set out in our manifesto.

Well, I was copied in on a patient's e-mail to Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board last week, complaining that a lack of permanent GPs at St Mark's surgery in Connah's Quay is, quote, 'now causing major problems as unable to book an appointment to see a doctor'. They tried to get through to the switchboard from 8 a.m. on 22, 23 and 24 June, and on each occasion, they were kept waiting for 45 minutes before being told that no appointments were left. On 28 June, a voicemail said the surgery was closed. Responding to me, the health board said the root of the problem was the unexpected sickness of two GPs due to be physically present and on duty on Monday, adding that this was the consequence of unplanned sickness, and this is now subject to the intervention of the area team to ensure this situation does not recur. However, this did not address the problem identified before 28 June, and similar problems are being raised by constituents who are patients at other practices.

What engagement are you therefore now having or planning with the relevant professional bodies, where it's now nine years since both the British Medical Association Cymru and the Royal College of General Practitioners Wales first launched campaigns warning members of a ticking time bomb, and seven years since the north Wales medical committee came to the Assembly, warning that general practice in north Wales was in crisis?

Well, thanks very much. Now, since the launch of our ‘Train. Work. Live.’ campaign, north Wales in particular has benefited from a higher number of appointments into GP training. So, last year saw 29 new trainees who were recruited to speciality training schemes in Bangor, in Dyffryn Clwyd and in Wrexham. So, I think that should demonstrate to you that, actually, there is a lot of work being done on this, specifically by Health Education and Improvement Wales.

The other issue, which you touch upon, is about access to GPs, and we did set out some standards that we announced back in March 2019, and there were a whole series of standards that GPs needed to respond to, if they were to get that enhanced payment that was due—and I have written to Members today to set out who received what and who achieved what in relation to meeting those standards. So, we do have measures and ways of trying to interact and engage, and we will be doing that in the next few weeks, with general medical services, to make sure that we can drive up access for our patients around the whole of Wales. Just to let you know that about 76 per cent of practices across Wales achieved all of the GMS in-hours access standards, and that compares to 65 per cent last year. But I'm very well aware that that suggests that 24 per cent didn't, and those are the ones we need to focus on.