Primary care sees more people with health needs than any other part of the system. The share of the health budget being spent on primary and community care services has reduced. The health and care system must be radically refocused to put primary and community care at its core if it is to be effective and sustainable. The decision that has had the biggest adverse effect on primary and community care was the merging of primary and secondary care, which resulted in the proportion of spend on secondary care going up at the expense of primary care. The community health service and general practice face multiple challenges, with insufficient staff and capacity to meet the rising patient needs and complexity.

Most primary care providers provide an excellent service in difficult circumstances. When people cannot get primary care, they go to A&E, thus further clogging up an under-pressure system. In some practices, if someone says they need an urgent GP appointment, they then get sent to A&E, also clogging the system. It's easy to say how important primary care is and how dependent we are on it. I have two requests: that the share of the health budget spent by health boards on primary and community care is protected next year, and to increase the proportion of minor surgical interventions carried out in primary care.