Surgeries in crisis over lack of GPs

MorE than one in four gP practices in Scotland has at least one vacancy for a doctor, according to a new survey.

The scale of the recruitment crisis was revealed by figures showing nearly 30 per cent of surgeries are understaffed.

Doctors say the findings undermine the SNP’s repeated claims of a record number of gPs in Scotland. They called for ministers to take ‘immediate and effective action’.

Scottish Tory public health spokesman Miles Briggs said: ‘It would make perfect sense to offer UK doctors and nurses who’d left the country the chance to come back and work for Scotland’s NHS. We should be paying their one-way ticket back and getting them straight into a job upon their return.

‘We might need to invest a bit in the short term but we’d soon reap the benefits.’

The figures emerged in a BMA survey, which found that 28.5 per cent of practices had at least one gP vacancy.

Last night, Dr Alan McDevitt, chairman of the BMA’s Scottish gP committee, said: ‘The fact that over 28 per cent of gP practices in Scotland had a vacant position in this snapshot survey is extremely concerning.

‘It shows the recruitment and retention problems we have been warning of are continuing to get worse.

‘The Scottish government can no longer talk about record numbers of gPs.’

Dr McDevitt warned that ‘every unfilled vacancy puts more and more strain on remaining gPs, who must struggle to cover the gaps in their practice while also coping with increasing demands on gP services’. He said: ‘The Scottish government must take immediate and effective action to support gPs.’

Separate NHS figures have shown the number of fulltime equivalent gPs has fallen from 3,735 to 3,645 since 2013.

Every health board apart from Shetland has had to reshuffle out-of-hours services because they have been unable to fill gP posts.

Scottish Labour health spokesman Anas Sarwar said: ‘All across Scotland, families are losing out because there aren’t enough doctors available. That’s simply not good enough.

‘We can’t just have another promise to train more gPs at some point in the future. We have a crisis in gP services now that Health Secretary Shona robison must recognise and address.’

Miss robison said: ‘We are committed to supporting and developing local gP and primary care services.

‘We have pledged to increase the number of gPs. Last year we confirmed an extra 100 gP training places to encourage more medical students into the profession.

‘We know there are still challenges in recruiting and retaining doctors to work in general practice. While Scotland continues to have the highest number of gPs per patient in the UK, we still need to redesign the way care is provided in the community to ensure these services are sustainable in the future. ‘We have committed £450,000 to reintroduce a national return to practice scheme, which has already attracted 160 former nurses and midwives who wish to get back into the profession.’

‘Extremely concerning’