<p>Primary Healthcare</p>

Part of 1. 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:08 pm on 2 May 2017.

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Photo of Carwyn Jones Carwyn Jones Labour 2:08, 2 May 2017

Can I welcome, first of all, what the Member said about not piling—that’s not the way she put it, but it’s what she meant—all the pressure on GPs? A good number of cases that appear before GPs don’t need a GP, which is why it is hugely important we have Choose Well, of course. We see, when health boards take over practices, that they become multidisciplinary. People can be directed to the nurse, to the pharmacist, to the occupational therapist or to the physiotherapist, as appropriate, rather than everybody piling on to the GP. The challenge for the smaller practices is to be able to take pressure off themselves in the future, by working with other practices to provide wider and more holistic services between them. So, for example, is it reasonable for a single-handed practice to employ lots of nurses or physiotherapists? No, but working with other practices, it then becomes far more viable for that to happen. But it is hugely important that we don’t—she doesn’t do this, in fairness—it is hugely important for us not to think that primary care is just about GPs; it’s about making sure that people get the right level of care the right time. You take away the pressure on GPs, you release more time for them to see the patients who need more time to be seen.

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