Covid 'shows need for north Wales medical school'

The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for a fully-licenced medical school in north Wales, a GP has said.

Medical students can currently study at Bangor University for the majority of their degree, but must complete some of their course at Cardiff University.

Dr Esyllt Llwyd, a GP in Waunfawr, Gwynedd, said more locally-trained staff could have eased pressure on local services during the pandemic.

Welsh Government said the feasibility of a medical school was being assessed.

Dr Llywd said: "The evidence has been there for years now.

"What we've seen is a change in the dynamic of how medicine is working and there was such a potential to carry on care in the community but we didn't have the resources.

"We just need people who have trained here, who feel the same passion if you like for filling these gaps in our services," she added.

In the Betsi Cadwaladr health board area, which covers all of north Wales, 13% of GP services are run directly by the health board, compared with 6% across the whole of Wales.

The health board is one of four in Wales to have used private medical consultancy agencies - which offer care similar to GPs.

Medical student Magi Tudur, from Penisarwaun, Gwynedd, has been able to study much of her degree in Bangor, but said she would have liked the option to have done the whole course there.

She said: "There wasn't much choice when I was in sixth form. There was Cardiff in Wales but everywhere else was in England.

"I wanted to do some of my course in Welsh so I had to go to Cardiff University."

She is one of 37 students on the Bangor/Cardiff course, but the health board and university have submitted a business case to expand the course.

The Welsh Government said it has set up a task group to "look at the feasibility" of a medical school in north Wales.

It added it had invested £7m in the course and any GP practices run directly by health boards are done so to ensure vital services.

A "record number" of GPs had been recruited in Wales this year, with 200 successful, the statement said.