SAM ROWLANDS, Member of the Welsh Parliament for North Wales, is urging the Welsh Government to urgently get round the table with GP’s to discuss their new contract.
Mr Rowlands, Shadow Health Secretary, was commenting in the Senedd during an exchange with Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Jeremy Miles.
He said: “It’s clear that GP practices are under even more pressure thanks to the Labour Government’s increase on national insurance contributions, which is a tax increase on working people and businesses. Indeed, a GP in this place last night explained that that national insurance increase alone to his practice is going to cost an extra £50,000 a year .
“The British Medical Association have warned that this measure risks undermining the financial stability of general practice and the quality of patient care that they can provide.
“It’s pretty clear that many practices will be unable to afford the national insurance increases that have been chosen to be put in place by the Labour Government in Westminster.
“Now I understand from speaking to GPs that they believe that the offer that you’re making to them at the moment is wholly inadequate and shows disregard for the longstanding issues and pressures they continually raise with myself and Members across the Chamber, and the ballot they have on the offer at the moment is likely to be rejected.
Jeremy Miles said he was disappointed that the general medical services contract negotiations this year have concluded without a resolution, but hoped there would be an opportunity to continue those discussions.
Mr Rowlands added: “Labour’s excuses won’t wash; they’ve betrayed GPs as they face immense pressures.
“After 100 Welsh GP closures in just over a decade, the last thing they needed was a jobs tax hike from the Labour UK Government in their budget.
“The Welsh Conservatives want to see better long-term planning from the Labour Welsh Government that invests properly in primary care and for them to join us in our opposition to Rachel Reeves’ employer national insurance rise.”
