Health
Call for overhaul of ‘unsustainable’ GP funding model

SENEDD members added their voices to a chorus of calls for fair funding for GPs after more than 21,000 people across Wales signed a petition.
Carolyn Thomas led a debate on the petition submitted by the British Medical Association (BMA) as part of the professional body’s “Save our Surgeries” campaign.
The Labour politician, who chairs the petitions committee, attended a meeting with GPs and told the Senedd their message was clear: the current funding model is unsustainable.
She said: “Over the last two decades, while the number of face-to-face appointments, digital contacts and phone calls has risen, the complexity of the work has been transformed, expenses have risen, and the cost of premises has leapt up.
“Yet the share of the health budget spent on GP services has shrunk..”
Ms Thomas, who represents North Wales added: “In some areas, recruitment and retention is the main worry but in others it’s the crumbling fabric of buildings. In others, it is the rapidly ageing population or a growing workload that isn’t matched by an equivalent rise in capacity.
“But underlying all of these is money to pay for the services that we all want to see.”
Sam Rowlands, the Conservatives’ shadow health secretary, said 8% of NHS Wales funding goes to GPs which is lower than levels from 2005/06.
Mr Rowlands pointed out that more than 100 surgeries have closed in the past 12 years.
Plaid Cymru’s Heledd Fychan criticised “huge underinvestment” over the past decade, telling the Senedd that Wales remains 500 GPs short of the OECD average.
She said: “There were 372 GP services in Wales at the end of June, which is 14 fewer than when the BMA launched the ‘Save Our Surgeries’ campaign. It is clear, therefore, that these consistent warnings about a shortage of provision … have fallen on deaf ears.”
Ms Fychan, who represents South Wales Central, raised concerns about big companies, often located outside Wales, stepping into the market for GP services.
She said: “In the Aneurin Bevan area, eHarleyStreet is a clear example of this. This continues with the damaging trend of profits being taken out of the health system into private pockets, and also makes the provision vulnerable.”
Her Plaid Cymru colleague Luke Fletcher raised a BMA survey that found nearly four out of five locum GPs cannot find work despite patient waiting times hitting record highs.
He said: “That’s in England but here in Wales the symptoms of the same crisis have been visible for a while, yet the data doesn’t seem to be available….
“Anecdotally, I’ve been told of locums in Wales looking to other fields. Some are considering jobs in retail and driving taxis. At a time when we’re crying out for GPs and we all accept that there’s a shortage of GPs – this situation is madness.”
Warning services are in chaos, the Conservatives’ Laura Anne Jones raised concerns about a survey showing 37% of Welsh GPs may leave the profession within five years.
Julie Morgan said she has heard the same story from surgeries in her constituency: “They’re struggling to maintain safe levels of service and worried about being able to continue.”
The former minister told the Senedd that Cardiff North is in the bottom 1% of funded practices in the UK due to the “outdated” Carr-Hill formula used to calculate funding.
Jenny Rathbone, a fellow Labour backbencher, highlighted the Deep End Cymru project, which aims to support 100 practices in the most deprived areas.
Jane Dodds, the Liberal Democrats’ leader in Wales, raised concerns about staff welfare and reiterated calls for a premium to recognise the significant challenges for GPs in rural areas.
Responding to the debate on November 6, Jeremy Miles said surgeries in Wales see an astonishing number of patients with around 1.5 million every month.
Wales’ health secretary stressed: “I want to reassure GPs that we have heard the messages about the huge demands and the pressure on staff welfare.”
Mr Miles said ministers have chosen to commit £1bn over this Senedd term to clear the backlog and reduce waiting times following the pandemic.
He told the Senedd: “By necessity, this means that a larger proportion of funding has gone to secondary care. Redressing this imbalance will be a priority for future funding decisions.
“And we are committed to the principle of providing more care closer to home.”
Health
UK fertility rates falling: Welsh counties among worst-hit, new data shows

Two-thirds predict family sizes will shrink even further by 2040
NEW figures released by Fertility Family reveal that parts of Wales have seen some of the steepest declines in fertility rates across the UK, with the Isle of Anglesey recording a drop of more than 44% over the past 15 years.
The Beyond the Birth Rate report combines official birth statistics with survey data to explore why fewer people are choosing to have children – and why they’re waiting longer when they do.
Wales’ top ten fertility declines
The study identified the ten Welsh areas most affected by declining birth rates. The Isle of Anglesey tops the list with a fall of 44.21%, followed by Wrexham, Caerphilly and Merthyr Tydfil – all of which have seen declines of more than 27%.
Rank | Area | Fertility rate decline |
---|---|---|
1 | Isle of Anglesey | -44.21% |
2 | Wrexham | -31.01% |
3 | Caerphilly | -27.74% |
4 | Merthyr Tydfil | -27.53% |
5 | Powys | -26.17% |
6 | Conwy | -25.45% |
7 | Pembrokeshire | -24.46% |
8 | Denbighshire | -24.35% |
9 | Cardiff | -23.54% |
10 | Blaenau Gwent | -23.18% |
Newport recorded the smallest decline in Wales, with a drop of just 8.6%.
How does the rest of the UK compare?
London has mirrored Wales’ dramatic decline, with boroughs such as Southwark also showing a 44.21% drop in fertility rates. However, some parts of England have been less affected.
Colchester has seen the smallest national drop, at just -3.95%, while other areas such as Runnymede (-5.19%), Lancaster (-6.04%), and Gravesham (-7.07%) have remained relatively stable.
Financial pressure tops list of reasons
The report suggests that the primary driver behind shrinking family sizes is economic hardship.
- 40% of people said financial stability was the key reason for delaying children.
- 23% described starting a family as simply unaffordable.
- 60% of respondents believe this financial strain is a major factor behind the rising age of first-time mothers.
Why are people waiting longer?
In addition to economic challenges, lifestyle and societal shifts are also playing a major role:
- 47% cited career ambitions and workplace pressures.
- 44% blamed difficulties in finding the right partner.
- 34% pointed to the housing crisis and lack of affordable homes.
These factors are leading to more people having children later in life – a decision which often reduces fertility and the total number of children they may have.
Smaller families likely the future
Over the past 15 years, the UK’s overall fertility rate has declined by 26.9%. That means for every two women of childbearing age, one fewer child is being born.
Looking ahead, 67% of people surveyed expect family sizes to shrink even further in the next 10 to 20 years.
The study also revealed:
- 40.7% believe more single parents will have children independently.
- 20.5% expect an increase in adoption and surrogacy.
- 14.9% foresee co-parenting arrangements becoming more common.
- A striking 47% said they believe more people will choose not to have children at all.
With both economic and social factors contributing to the trend, the report paints a clear picture: the traditional family model in the UK is evolving – and quickly.
Health
NHS performance in Wales ‘a mixed bag’ as latest figures released

THE NUMBER of Welsh NHS patients waiting more than two years for treatment has fallen by 26%, according to data released by the Welsh Government on Thursday, April 17.
However, waiting times for ambulances have increased, while A&E performance continues to be under severe pressure.
The latest NHS statistics for Wales revealed that the NHS treatment waiting list remains at 793,946 pathways.
Two-year waits are 15,005 in Wales, compared with only 161 in England. The Labour Health Minister, now First Minister, Eluned Morgan, promised to eliminate these waits by March 2023 and again by March 2024 but failed to meet these targets. The target remains a long way off from being met.
The Welsh Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Jeremy Miles, said: “I am very happy to see a significant fall in the longest waits and the overall size of the waiting list falling for the third month in a row.
“This shows what can be achieved when health boards focus on delivering services, including faster treatment and increased NHS capacity, by embracing new ways of working.
“Those efforts have been supported by our £50m additional investment.
“We still have more work to do to reach our ambitious targets, but it is encouraging to see waiting times consistently falling.
“Two-year waits have fallen to their lowest levels since June 2021 and were more than 26% lower compared to the previous month.”
However, the NHS in England has already eliminated two-year waits. At the same time, a significant number of specialisms in Wales, including orthopaedic care, are excluded from the waiting time data.
Jeremy Miles continued: “The number of pathways waiting more than a year for their first outpatient appointment has fallen for a third consecutive month and is nearly 28% lower than the peak in August 2022.
“The number of patient pathways waiting 36 weeks and the average time waiting for treatment were both lower than the previous month.
“Performance improved against the 62-day cancer target in February, increasing to more than 60%, whilst 1,800 people started cancer treatment and 13,000 people were told the good news they did not have cancer.
“A significant improvement was achieved in March in reducing the total number of delayed hospital discharges, with a drop of 114 delays over the previous month. This was the lowest delay figure over the past year and the overall second lowest since reporting began two years ago.”
However, despite the Welsh Government blowing its own trumpet, performance still lags far behind the already poor performance of the Welsh NHS against targets preceding the Covid pandemic.
James Evans MS, Welsh Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, said: “Labour Ministers will try to claim success today, but these statistics are worse than a mixed bag.
“The reduction in two-year waits is welcome, but the fact that they still exist at all, when they haven’t for so many months in England, coupled with worsening ambulance response times, is a testament to Labour’s failure to meet their targets.
“The Welsh Conservatives want to see improvements across the board and we can only achieve that by removing restrictions to cross-border, cross-community and cross-sector capacity sharing and by, flnally, enacting a long-term workforce plan.”
Education
Calls for all Pembrokeshire schools to have EpiPens on site

A CALL to develop a group to look at a Pembrokeshire-wide policy on schools stocking potentially life-saving EpiPens has been deferred, awaiting the outcome of a Welsh Government scoping exercise.
The current Welsh Government position on emergency adrenaline auto-injectors, commonly known as EpiPens, is different from England, where it was mandatory for schools to hold a stock.
EpiPens are commonly used in the emergency treatment of Anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction that can be life-threatening.
Welsh Government guidance allows schools to obtain adrenaline auto-injectors (AAIs) without prescription for emergency use, with Pembrokeshire favouring a school-led decision rather than an authority-led one, replicating Welsh Government guidance.
A call to review the county policy was heard at the April meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council’s Schools and Learning Overview committee following a request from Independent Group leader Cllr Huw Murphy.
Cllr Murphy had said: “Ysgol Bro Ingli H&S Committee met on April 1 to review existing policies, one of which was the First Aid policy. The document provided is the Ysgol Bro Ingli First Aid Policy, which appears to be an adaptation of a generic PCC First Aid document sent to all PCC schools to adapt/implement as appropriate.
“It was highlighted at this meeting that the subject of ‘EpiPens’ was absent, and it appears that PCC may not have developed a county-wide policy on this subject to date, which I think needs scrutiny. At present the stocking of EpiPens is a matter for the Head of a School & Governing Body.
“As was the case when we as an O&S Committee moved to support the introduction of a mobile phone ban in schools, I think we as councillors should provide political leadership to also move to develop a county-wide policy on schools stocking EpiPens (possibly inhalers for asthmatics) and that PCC should fund this cost. It cannot be assumed every child with an allergy will always bring their EpiPen to school and furthermore this does not cover other potential severe allergic reactions eg bee stings.
“I was going to submit an NoM to council but with hindsight feel that the Schools O&S would be the appropriate forum for the matter to be given a thorough airing from where we can hopefully move a recommendation to council.”
Cllr Murphy’s call was backed by Cllr Micheal John, saying: “If there’s a chance of one person dying due to a lack of policy it’s something we have to consider,” moving for a working group to be established to obtain more data ahead of any formal decision.
Another supporter was Cllr Anji Tinley, herself an EpiPen user, compared the provision in schools with defibrillators, saying: “You don’t know you’re going to have a heart attack,” later adding: “£70 to save a life, I don’t think that’s a lot of money.”
Members heard a scoping exercise was currently taking place in Wales, with members agreeing to write to Welsh Government to for an update on its position ahead of any formal group being created.
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