‘General practice sits at the frontline of the NHS’
General practice sits at the frontline of the NHS and provides a 24/7 service, according to the chairman of the RCGP, Dr Chris Provan.
In May, it emerged that Scotland had lost around 100 GP surgeries over the past decade – roughly one in ten – while patient numbers had swelled due to an ageing population and demographic changes.
As a consequence, there are now 1,687 patients for every full-time-equivalent GP. In Edinburgh, one practice has gone from having 3,098 patients in 2018, to 10,718 in April 2023 – an increase of 206 per cent.
Many GP practices have simply handed their contracts back to their local health board, leaving the boards managing failing practices – which can be two to three times more expensive to run compared with independent practices, according to the BMA.
The RCGP said the Scottish Government must implement “a major shift” to “properly value primary care in the NHS’s long-term strategic planning and resourcing” to in turn safeguard general practice.
Dr Provan said: “The issues of recruitment and retention require urgent attention from the Scottish Government if we are to change the course. We need a credible workforce plan, which increases the number of GPs working in Scotland, retains our existing, experienced workforce, and recruits more GPs with a programme of enhanced and extended training.”
He called for the Scottish Government to allocate “at least 11 per cent” of the total NHS budget, “to unlock the full potential of an integrated health and social care system”.