A report due to be discussed by Cwm Taf Morgannwg Health Board today revealed that 13 GP practices across the health board area (Bridgend, Rhondda Cynon Taf & Merthyr Tydfil) were deemed to be at risk of contract resignations in March 2022 (pdf).
A “contract resignation” – also known as “handing back their NHS contract” – is effectively a closure of an independent GP practice, meaning the health board would have to ensure patients registered at the practice continue to have access to GP services.
In March 2022, 4 practices were deemed to be “high risk” and a further 9 at “medium risk”. This represents just over a fifth of all GP practices in Cwm Taf Morgannwg.
It’s not revealed where these practices are, though the total number of patients treated across all 13 practices is more than 96,000.
GP practices have come under enormous pressure both before and during the Covid-19 pandemic, with demand for GP appointments increasing by 25%.
Some of the reasons practices have been deemed to be “at risk” include:
- GP retirement – with some practices only having a single GP.
- General workforce pressures, including part-time working by GPs.
- Funding and administration issues.
- In at least one case, excessive complaints/concerns about standards.
- Issues in existing partnerships between separate practices.
The good news is that as a result of early intervention by the health board, 3 practices are no longer deemed to be at any immediate risk and 2 more practices have been de-escalated from “high” to “medium” risk.
Some of the measures put in place include specific action plans, discussions about new partnerships with larger neighbouring practices and urgent recruitment to fill vacancies.
