Health secretary Jeremy Miles spoke at the Welsh Local Medical Committee Conference on Saturday (8th March 2025) and explained how the coming year will be about transforming how health services are delivered to keep care closer to home.

GPs, therefore, will have an important role in managing waiting lists to slash delays and improve the speed at which patients move through the health system, including expanding diagnostic testing in communities.

Welsh GPs are set to be supported through a new initiative that will ensure that continuity of care will start with identifying the most vulnerable patients who would benefit from seeing the same GP at each appointment. This will improve outcomes for those with chronic conditions and support overall better health.

The Welsh health secretary has recognised that as care moves out of hospitals and into communities, then resources will need to follow, and that health boards will be required to declare increased primary care spending to support this change.

Health secretary Jeremy Miles said: “It is vital we work together to address the pressures in our NHS by improving access patients have to the care they need, and the flow through the system.

“The role of GPs is fundamental to being able to bring the system back into balance.

“This is not about general medical services doing more and more but about designing a way of commissioning more services in a primary setting, in local communities but at a scale which is viable and sustainable.

“GPs play a crucial role in their communities. I want to work with them to develop a primary and community care offer that values the skills and expertise of general practice and gives GPs the tools to thrive and delivers the care patients need closer to home.”