Part of the debate – Senedd Cymru am 4:05 pm ar 28 Mawrth 2023.
The performance of primary care is obviously a really complex issue, because if you're serving a deprived population, it is likely that the demand on your services is going to be much greater than in an area where people can afford to simply go to the pharmacist and buy whatever it is they need. So, I think—. I appreciate that the 8 o'clock in the morning call is incredibly stressful for very vulnerable people, particularly those who find it difficult to use their mobile phones. But I did see some really excellent practice in one of my health centres, where the senior receptionist committed to ring the patient at 8 o'clock in the morning, knowing that they needed to be prioritised for some of the limited available spaces. We cannot expect GPs to run on a treadmill even harder—that is the path to burnout. So, it definitely needs human beings to be involved to prioritise urgent need over the worried well. But I think excellent work is obviously being done, Minister, and the better use of pharmacists and optometrists on the high street. And the 111 service—wasn't it great that we didn't rush into trying to replicate what they were doing England?