Simon Thomas, Mid and West Wales regional Assembly Member has called for the Welsh Government to address the growing urgency of the need for GPs in the region. The Plaid Cymru Assembly Member raised the issue in the National Assembly for Wales on Wednesday the 9th of December as an urgent priority.

“I’ve been in receipt of several complaints from areas such as Pembroke, Pembroke Dock and Tenby over long periods of waiting—a fortnight and more—for access to GP services,” he told the Welsh Government’s Minister for Finance and Business.

“When I enquired with the Hywel Dda board, I was referred to a report on Pembrokeshire health services that was discussed on November 26, which states very clearly that ‘there are higher vacancy rates in General Practice and in GP training posts than elsewhere in Wales’.”

Simon highlighted the lack of planning by the Labour Government, saying ”There’s clearly an ongoing problem with GP recruitment, with filling posts, and with training posts in many parts of Wales, and particularly in my region.“

Outside of the Assembly, Simon later said that the future prospects of GP recruitment is critical, and has arranged a public meeting in Tenby to discuss with constituents the current situation.

The public meeting takes place at 6 pm on Thursday (December 17) at Catholic Church House, St Florence Parade, Tenby. All are welcome.

Wales currently lags behind the other nations of the UK in terms of Doctors per head, with Scotland having 1000 more Doctors. After 16 years of Labour leading the Welsh NHS, Wales is also one of the lowest ranked nations in the whole of Europe in terms of Doctors per head.

A Plaid Cymru Government will plan to recruit 1000 extra Doctors over 10 years, which would provide Wales with a more adequate provision and drastically improve GP shortages and appointment waiting times.