Docs are sick of SNP spin
DOCTORS are demoralised and frustrated by the Scottish Government’s claim that there are more of them than ever before, the leader of their union in Scotland will warn today.
Dr Peter Bennie will tell the BMA’s annual conference there are simply too few doctors to look after patients properly.
He will say: “The most recent Government figures show that more than 400 consultant posts in Scotland are unfilled, and almost half of these have been unfilled for more than six months.
“Junior doctor posts lie empty in many specialties. Nobody is even measuring specialty and associate specialist doctor vacancies.
“More than a quarter of GP practices are missing senior staff. Doctors are just not applying for these jobs.
“Add in the anxieties many of our European friends and colleagues face about Brexit and we risk a very real exodus of talented staff, along with difficulty in promoting Scotland as an attractive place to train and work.
“The Scottish Government repeatedly say ‘there are more doctors than ever before’ but this is simply ignoring a major risk to the health service. It is demoralising and frustrating for doctors to hear time and time again.”
Bennie will call on politicians to rise above “the current political instability” and focus on the needs of the NHS.
He will demand urgent action to tackle underfunding of the service, the shortage of doctors, lack of resources to truly integrate health and social care, and lack of time for doctors to keep themselves up to date, teach others and make joint decisions with patients.
He will say: “The pressure the health service is under makes achieving these changes critical.”
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