Over Half of GPs in Wales Say They Routinely Cannot Meet Patient Demand Amid Severe Underinvestment
Key Insights
A BMA survey found 54% of GPs in Wales describe patient access as routinely inadequate due to severe and sustained underinvestment in primary care.
Some 70% of GPs reported workload having a routine or constant impact on their personal wellbeing, and 63% said it impacts patient care.
Practices are making cuts to survive, with 43% reporting recruitment freezes, 62% reporting increased workloads, and 23% reducing services including minor surgery.
A survey of general practitioners across Wales has revealed a primary care system under severe strain, with more than half of respondents stating they routinely cannot meet patient demand. The findings, published by the British Medical Association (search) (BMA) as part of its "Save Our Surgeries" campaign, paint a picture of a workforce grappling with underinvestment, rising workloads, and diminishing capacity.
The BMA Cymru Wales Workforce, Workload and Wellbeing Survey, conducted annually since 2023, gathered responses from 221 GPs. It found that 54% of respondents described patient access as routinely inadequate in the face of demand, attributing the situation to "severe and sustained underinvestment which has stifled long term planning for staff and services."
Workforce wellbeing and patient care impact
The toll on clinicians is stark. Seventy percent of GPs reported that workload had a routine or constant impact on their personal wellbeing, while 63% said the same was true for patient care. These figures underscore a dual crisis affecting both those delivering care and those receiving it.
Dr Gareth Oelmann, chair of the BMA's GP committee in Wales, said: "We want to ensure every patient can secure an appropriate and timely appointment, but how can that be delivered when practices are unable to invest in staff and services? This is taking its toll on both doctors and patient care."
Service cuts and recruitment freezes
Facing financial pressure, practices are actively reducing what they offer. The survey found that 62% of GPs reported increased personal workloads, 43% reported recruitment freezes, 31% had deferred investment into premises, IT, and facilities, and 23% reported reducing service provision—including minor surgery and shared care arrangements.
The workforce picture is further clouded by uncertainty about the future. Only 62% of contractor GPs plan to remain as a GP partner within three years, with notable numbers anticipating early retirement, leaving medicine altogether, or expressing uncertainty about their career trajectory.
Systemic underfunding
The BMA highlighted that general practice in Wales receives just 6% of the total NHS budget. Since 2012, there have been 106 surgery closures and a 20% reduction in full-time equivalent GPs, resulting in a 31% increase in patients per full-time GP.
Dr Oelmann added: "We share in the Welsh Government's ambition to deliver care closer to home; as GPs we're adept at knowing the needs of our communities but right now demand is far outstripping capacity."
Call for urgent action
The BMA is calling on the newly formed Welsh Government to take urgent action, warning that without better financial support the consequences for both staff and patients will deepen. Dr Oelmann urged: "We now need to see urgent action from the new Welsh Government; please heed the warnings from our survey, backed by the recent Senedd inquiry into the future of general practice."
He concluded: "With sustained, meaningful investment, family doctors would be able to enhance their services and plan for the long term, investing in more GPs and being able to provide patients with safe, timely care."