An official inquiry has been launched in Wales to establish whether general practice clusters will help solve the country’s crisis in primary care.

Some £10 million has been pumped in primary care clusters in Wales as part of a £43 million injection of cash into front-line services.

Members of the Welsh Assembly say they have heard that general practice is at “crisis point.”

They say they intend to established whether the country’s 64 cluster networks are leading to improvements in the quality of care.

Dai Lloyd, who chairs the Assembly’s health committee, said: “GP clusters can be an effective way to deliver much needed essential services, relieving some of the pressure on GPs themselves.

“We have already heard from a number of professional bodies that suggest general practice in Wales is at crisis point, facing increasing workloads and problems with recruitment and retention of staff.

“So the need to place general practice on a more sustainable footing has never been more stark.”

Dr Charlotte Jones, who chairs the British Medical Association’s Welsh GP committee, welcomed the inquiry.

She said it would “highlight where good progress has been made and where there’s room for improvement – especially given the Welsh Government’s commitment of resources to the cluster model.”