SNP must invest extra £200m in GP services, says Briggs

The Scottish Conservatives have called for an extra £200million to be invested in GP services across Scotland. 

Scotland will receive an additional £200million as a result of a Conservative pledge, announced today, to create 50 million more appointments in GP surgeries in England.

 All £200million – Scotland’s share under the Barnett Formula of the £2billion spending programme in England – must be directed to GP services, Scottish Conservative shadow health secretary Miles Briggs said. 

Miles Briggs, Scottish Conservative shadow health secretary said: “We are facing a GP crisis in Scotland and Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP government are failing to address it. 

“Audit Scotland warned earlier this year that the SNP government will struggle to recruit the GPs we need over the coming decade. 

“Nicola Sturgeon failed to plan ahead when she was health secretary and her mistakes are now letting down families who need quick and easy access to their doctor. 

“Every penny of this welcome boost to the Scottish budget must be spent tackling our GP crisis.” 

In an election manifesto pledge unveiled today, the Conservatives commit to creating an extra 50 million appointments per year at GP surgeries in England. 

They will be delivered by an extra 6,000 doctors and 6,000 other primary care staff, such as physios and pharmacists, who will be in place by 2024/25. 

The £2billion programme, over four years, will ensure patients in England can be seen by the right person when it is most convenient for them. 

Miles Briggs added: “The SNP’s stewardship of our cherished NHS has been nothing short of scandalous. 

“We are paying £1.4million per month for a new children’s hospital in Edinburgh that is lying empty because of safety concerns. 

“An inquiry has also been launched into safety at Glasgow’s flagship hospital after patients died from an infection caused by pigeon droppings. 

“Nicola Sturgeon’s government created a 12 week treatment ‘guarantee’ that across the country has never been met. 

“But their only response in this election has been to promise a meaningless gesture Bill to protect the NHS. The people our NHS needs protecting from are the people who are supposed to be running it – Nicola Sturgeon’s own government.”