Yousaf has to heed warnings from our GPs

Another day, another NHS crisis story. Barely a day goes without another example of service creaking under the strain overwork and under-financing.

A nurses’ strike looms. Ambulance delays cost lives. Waiting times at accident and emergency units stretch far beyond the Scottish Government’s target times.

But today’s warning – Scotland is at risk of sleepwalking into the “death of general practice” – is a threat that affects us all.

For most of us, the family doctor will be our first point of contact with the NHS.

If we’re lucky and in relatively good shape, our local GP surgery is the place where nearly all of our health needs can be met.

Good care in the community allows people to live happy and productive lives. It can catch serious complaints at an early stage and prevent manageable health conditions from spiralling into acute concerns that pose costlier and more complicated problems for the NHS.

But the Scottish Local Medical Committee conference has been told there are grave worries for the future of this essential service.

A survey of 1,000 GPs found fewer than one in five would recommend a career in general practice.

Doctors say workload pressures are making the job unbearable and unmanageable.

And without a reliable flow of new recruits entering the profession, staff shortages will increase, strains will grow and patient care will undoubtedly be impacted.

The solution isn’t rocket science. Blairgowrie doctor Andrew Buist, chairman of BMA Scotland’s Scottish GP committee, says the government needs to invest in employing sufficient GPs – and give them time and support to do the job of caring for patients in their own communities.

Clearly there’s no shortage of demands for funding from elsewhere in the NHS.

Health Secretary Humza Yousaf told the conference he has never seen the public finances so constrained.

But he would do well to heed the doctor’s advice. General practice is the bedrock of our society and without family doctors, the NHS faces an even shakier future.