Peter Lazenby
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LABOUR has accused the Scottish government of breaking a pledge to increase the number of GPs.
Doctors’ union the British Medical Association (BMA) echoed the criticism, saying that the failure had caused a “vicious circle” of rising workloads driving even more GPs out of the profession.
In 2017 the SNP-run government pledged to increase the number of GPs by 80, but Scotland now has 3,493 — 81 fewer than in 2017.
The figures are contained in a survey of GP practices by Public Health Scotland.
BMA Scottish GP committee chairman Dr Andrew Buist said: “The recent workforce statistics starkly illustrate the mismatch between demand and GP capacity in Scotland that BMA Scotland has warned of for some time.
“They show that the WTE [whole-time equivalent] number of GPs in Scotland has actually fallen by 3 per cent to the lowest level since this workforce survey was first produced.
“Put simply, this means there is less GP capacity available to care for the people of Scotland than at any point since 2009, at the exact time we are seeing substantial increases in demand for care.
“I believe we really are at a tipping point for GPs and practices in every single area of the country and are approximately 1,000 WTE GPs short.”
Dr Buist insisted that urgent direct investment was needed to promote GP recruitment, adding: “We need a focus on easing the workload burden driving so many out of the profession and we need recent funding cuts to be reversed.”
Scottish Labour said the problem had been worsened by the Scottish government making £65 million in funding cuts for primary care.
Party spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said: “Our services are at breaking point and hardworking staff have been left to pick up the pieces.
“GPs face increasingly worse conditions and many have chosen to leave the profession entirely.
“We will likely see numbers continue fall unless this dilemma is fixed.
“The SNP needs to actually address the multiple shortcomings in their support for GPs or else we will face a worsening and potentially deadly crisis in primary care.”
The Scottish government was invited to comment.
