Older People’s Commissioner for Wales, Heléna Herklots CBE, said:
“I welcome the publication of new standards for GP practices by the Welsh Government, which aim to improve access to GP services throughout Wales.
“A report published by my office in 2017 – GP Services in Wales: The Perspective of Older People – identified a number of issues that can prevent older people from accessing GP services and included formal guidance on how these issues should be addressed.
“The new standards are therefore an important step forward in improving older people’s access to GP services, particularly in terms of making appointments and the ways in which they can communicate and interact with their GP service.
“However, there are a number of wider issues around access that still need to be addressed, such as transport, physical access to GP surgeries and the surgery environment, and I will continue to work with the Welsh Government to ensure that further improvements are delivered.”