Shadow Minister for North Wales and Clwyd West MS Darren Millar is concerned by latest figures showing that out of a total of 97 GP practices in North Wales, only 58 achieved General Medical Services (GMS) In Hours Access Standards.

The Access Standards were introduced in March 2019 and aimed at providing the clarity needed around what should be expected for both patients and professionals.

The standards are as follows:

• People receive a prompt response to their contact with a GP practice via telephone
• Practices have the appropriate telephony systems in place to support the needs of people avoiding the need to call back multiple times and will check that they are handling calls in this way
• People receive bilingual information on local and emergency services when contacting a practice
• People are able to access information on how to get help and advice
• People receive the right care at the right times in a joined up way which is based on their needs
• People can use a range of options to contact their GP practice
• People are able to email a practice to request a non-urgent consultation or a call back
• Practices understand the needs of people within their practice and use this information to anticipate the demand on its services

Across Wales, 76% of practices have achieved all the access standards, but in North Wales the figure stands at just 59.8%.

When it comes to answering calls, the figures show that in North Wales one in three telephone calls to surgeries seem to be going unanswered.

Commenting Darren said:

“Everyone needs good access to their GP but these figures show that this clearly isn’t happening at a great many surgeries in North Wales  

“It is deeply concerning that across the 97 GP surgeries in North Wales, 32% of calls are just not being answered. The consequences of this don’t bare thinking about.

“These standards were put in place to help ensure patients receive the service and care they need and deserve from their GP and it therefore crucial that the Welsh Government acts now to improve these figures, so that all patients, no matter which part of Wales they live in, are able to easily access their doctor’s surgery when they need to.”