Only GP in village has 4,300 patients

A GP warned last night that he may not be able to care for patients safely after becoming the only doctor for 4,300 residents – almost three times the average.

Dr Arfon Williams is the sole GP at his practice after his colleague of 20 years retired last month.

GPs in England have around 1,500 patients each on their register – but in Wales the figure is 1,640. Dr Williams said the Welsh NHS was in crisis and no doctors wanted to work in the area, leaving his surgery unable to find a replacement.

He said rural communities were being abandoned by doctors struggling to cope with a huge workload and little support from health bosses.

Dr Williams, from Nefyn, North Wales, said: ‘We used to be a three-partner practice for 4,300 patients and a very large holiday population. We cover a rural area so it is going to prove incredibly difficult to provide a safe service for our patients. But we will endeavour to do so.

‘ We have been informing the health authority of this recruitment crisis for years. Little has been done and the system is at breaking point.

‘This is a year-round problem, no longer to be blamed on winter pressures. The system is broken.’ Darren Millar, Tory health spokesman in the Welsh Assembly, said it was a ‘dire example of poor workforce planning’ by the Welsh Labour government. Doctors also criticised the Labour-run health service.

Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, which manages NHS services in North Wales, admitted there were ‘particular problems in specific areas’ of the region in recruiting GPs.