§ 6. Mr. Duncan SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many general practitioner fundholders there are in Wales; and what percentage this figure represents of all general practitioner fundholders. [25637]
§ Mr. RichardsFifty per cent. of Welsh general practitioners are fundholders, covering about 52 per cent of the population. That involves 863 practitioners in 210 practices. The Welsh Office does not hold information on comparative English, Northern Ireland or Scottish data.
§ Mr. Duncan SmithI congratulate my hon. Friend on that record, but does he agree that the Government's purpose in Wales should now be to press further and 757 harder in their attempt to make more practices fundholding? Fundholders have achieved success both in the delivery of service to patients and, more particularly—we hear complaints from the Opposition about this—in reducing expense and bureaucracy by striking tougher contracts, causing trusts to reduce their costs. Does my hon. Friend agree that we should now trumpet the idea that the Labour party will get rid of fundholders and destroy the advances that we have made?
§ Mr. RichardsMy hon. Friend is absolutely right. GP fundholders are at the forefront of quality, improvement and new services, in particular in reducing waiting times and improving outreach services—for example, the provision of consultants. He is also correct to draw attention to the dangers of Labour party policies. New Labour is no more than a wooden horse called Tony the phoney pony, whose mission is to deceive the British people into believing that the marauding socialists have disappeared.
§ Mr. Llew SmithAs I am sure the Minister knows, in Blaenau Gwent we have some of the worst health problems that have been experienced in any parliamentary constituency in England or Wales. We want more doctors rather than fewer. Would the Minister care to comment on Gwent health authority's decision to remove one of the only two doctors in Cwm, and will he support the local community in demanding that the health authority reverse that decision and, if it refuses, that its members resign?
§ Mr. RichardsWe are aware that Gwent health authority is about to remove a doctor which, of course, is a matter for it. The number of general practitioners in Wales has gone up by 28 per cent. since 1979. In the hon. Gentleman's constituency, between 31 December 1994 and 31 December last year, the number of people waiting more than sixth months for a first out-patient appointment fell by 90 per cent. and the number waiting more than 12 months for in-patient day case treatment has fallen by 17 per cent.