A Former NHS GP who opened a private surgery in Newcastle Emlyn has said the private sector can help ease the pressure on the health service in Wales.

Dr Beth Howells, who had worked in the NHS for nearly 20 years before leaving to begin her surgery, said she believes there will be an expansion of private primary healthcare at a time when GP services are under pressure.

Dr Howells, who returned her NHS contract and opened her own private surgery last year said people opted to pay for a private GP as they felt they could not wait two or three weeks for a GP appointment at their NHS practice.

Figures from the British Medical Association (BMA) show that the number of patients per GP in Wales has risen from 1,676 in 2013 to 2,210 in 2022 – meaning each doctor is under more pressure, with an increased workload.

Speaking to the BBC, Dr Howells said: “It’s difficult to predict the future and how things will evolve and where the demand will be.

“But I personally think it’s impossible for the NHS to provide everything to everybody.

“The population has expanded enormously, people are living longer due to good health care, which means that there will be a role for additional services which the NHS will not be in a position to offer.”

The Welsh government said it was up to individuals if they wanted to use private health care instead of the NHS.

BMA Wales said doctors leaving the NHS for the private sector was “a symptom of the impact of chronic under-investment in general practice over a number of years” and called for a commitment “to a reversal of this under-funding.”

The Welsh government said it had provided financial incentives to attract GP trainees to speciality training schemes in mid, north and west Wales.