One in four has to wait more than a week to see doctor

MORE than a quarter of Scots are having to wait longer than seven days to see their GP, a new survey has revealed.

Up to 915 extra GPs could be needed i f Scotland’s population grows substantially in the next five years, a doctors’ group has said.

The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) Scotland said that even if the population grows at a lower predicted rate, a further 563 GPs will be needed to meet demand.

The college has accused the Scottish Government of misleading statements about growth in the number of GPs in Scotland.

More than a third of Scots (36 per cent) say the last time they tried to book an appointment, they could not get to see their GP within the Scottish Government’s 48-hour target, a ComRes poll carried out between March and April found.

More than a quarter (28 per cent) say they were unable to book an appointment within a week and around two in five (42 per cent) agreed that waiting times are ‘a national crisis’.

Dr Miles Mack, chairman of RCGP Scotland, said: ‘The Scottish Government has unfortunately not yet faced up to the crisis in Scottish medical services.

‘Governmental press statements consistently claim increases in GP numbers that ignore the impact of part-time workers and directly contradict their own reporting from NHS Scotland’s Information Services Division (ISD).

‘We had, according to the ISD primary care workforce survey of 2013, only 35 new whole-time- equivalent GPs between 2009 and 2013.

‘Similarly, it is repeated that Scotland has more GPs per head of population than England. That has always been the case and our larger rural areas have been a significant contributor to that.’

Scottish Conservative health spokesman Jackson Carlaw said: ‘The Conservatives are committed to investing in the Scottish NHS, with a pledge of an additional £800million per annum by the end of the next parliament. This will provide funds for investment in primary care.’

Jenny Marra, Scottish Labour’s health spokesman, said: ‘We know our GPs are under real pressure trying to keep our communities healthy and we need more doctors to ensure people get the care and support they deserve.’

But Scottish Health Secretary Shona Robison said: ‘Under this Government, the number of GPs employed in Scotland has risen by 6.9 per cent to nearly 5,000 – the highest ever on record. We have also increased funding by 10 per cent.’