Surgery cuts access due to GP shortages

A GP surgery has warned patients that it is cutting the number of appointments available over the next three mont h s due to staff shortages.

Great Western Medical Practice in Aberdeen will have 200 fewer appointments every week until new doctors start work in September.

Patients have now been told in a letter only to book appointments with their family GP if it is absolutely necessary.

Dr Ken Lawton, partner at the west end surgery, said recruitment continued to be a major issue with many practices affected across the country.

He said: “It is proving difficult to recruit general practitioners to the north-east of Scotland particularly, but Scotland wide there have been practices that have had to close or be taken over by the health board because of doctor shortages.

“Shona Robison (the health secretary) says we have recruited more GPs but the issue is the recruitment of fulltime doctors. The number of full-time equivalent GPs is down by around 30 per cent in Scotland.

“There are as many GPs coming through but these people are not working fulltime or may be taking a career break – or a number of them go abroad, because once they are trained in the UK their licence enables them to work in most Commonwealth countries.

“It is a country-wide issue, we don’t know where our trained GPs are going and we must do something to stem the flow.”