Dire prognosis

An article in The Scotsman yesterday (9 February) states that the Conservatives will deliver 1,000 more GPS for Scotland’s NHS in four years.

It takes five years at university, two years as a foundation junior doctor, then three or four years as a trainee GP to produce a basic qualified GP.

When I was working as a GP we trained young GPS and they were of a very high standard, but still needed many years of experience to become what I would call consultant grade experienced fully independent GPS. It is now the case that more than 50 per cent of entrants to medical school and GP training are women. After training many will not wish to work full time. Some will move abroad or develop portfolio careers within the NHS. Many will become assistants or locums and not join the full-time workforce. Gone are the days of GPS working long hours with excessive oncall and part-time working to engender better work/life balance, and a family life is now the norm. Quite rightly so.

So to provide 1,000 new fulltime equivalent GPS you will probably need to train 2,000. This will never happen within the timescale suggested. Capping the number of Scottish applicants to medical school does not help. When I retired not long ago as a full-time GP no one was interested in joining our practice as full-time replacement. This will not change and if you ask any GP they will tell you that the profession has been saying this for at least the last 20 years. So much for workforce planning. (Dr) Gordon Scott

Edinburgh