<p>Primary Healthcare</p>

Part of 1. 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:07 pm on 2 May 2017.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Angela Burns Angela Burns Conservative 2:07, 2 May 2017

Patients not only need to have access to good GP surgeries and good GPs, but also they need to have quality in that access. We all accept, and I think there’s a growing recognition, that GPs should be left to deal with the more complex cases and those with multiple comorbidities. We welcome the growth in the allied healthcare professionals, and we welcome the growth in having counsellors in GP surgeries, and in having chronic care condition nurses, palliative care specialists and so on. But I do wonder, First Minister, what discussions your Government might have had in terms of extending the appointment time. Because if a GP who is already under enormous pressure has to see a patient with complex healthcare issues or comorbidities and write up those notes, the standard 10 minutes is a very difficult thing for them to undertake all that work in. I wonder if your Government has had any consideration of that particular matter.

Minister

Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.