Tag: general practice

GP plan ‘failing to deliver’

A Scottish Government agreement with GPs to improve general practice has failed to deliver on several of its commitments, says spending watchdog Audit Scotland.

The 2018 General Medical Service (GMS) contract aimed to address the financial pressures and growing workloads facing GPs, and to improve patients’ access to care.

However, seven years on:

  • the estimated number of whole-time equivalent GPs has fallen
  • pressure on general practice has increased
  • proposals to support GP teams with more nurses, physiotherapists and other specialists have moved more slowly than planned
  • and people report finding it more difficult to access care.

The Scottish Government has not set out how it intends to invest in general practice over the medium-term. And it is unlikely to hit its target of 800 more GPs by 2027. Spending on general practice as a proportion of overall NHS spending has fallen slightly in recent years. And between 2021/22 and 2023/24 spending decreased by 6 per cent in real terms, putting more pressure on GP practices.

National data for primary care remains inadequate. There is a lack of robust information about general practice demand, workload, workforce, and quality of care. This limits the Scottish Government’s ability to say whether the GMS contract changes represent value for money or have improved patient care.

Stephen Boyle, Auditor General for Scotland, said: “The pandemic pushed back plans for general practice. But the new delivery deadlines that were put in place were missed, and there’s not been enough transparency about progress since then.

“The Scottish Government needs to clarify its plan for general practice and set out the actions, timescales and costs to deliver it.”

Scottish Government announces additional investment in general practice

Funding to help practices retain and recruit key staff

An additional £13.6 million will be invested in General Practice this financial year to support GPs to retain and recruit key staff, Health Secretary Neil Gray has announced.

Speaking at the annual conference of BMA Scotland’s Local Medical Committees, Mr Gray confirmed the immediate funding for 2024-25 will address known financial pressures, support staff costs and enable GPs to take on partners and salaried GP staff.

Mr Gray said: “I recognise the significant financial and workload challenges facing both the NHS as a whole and General Practice, especially during this period of high demand, and understand the significant strain this places on GPs.

“My focus remains firmly on finding ways to recruit more GPs, even within the constraints of the current financial climate, and that is why I am allocating an additional £13.6 million for General Practice this financial year to support staff costs. This additional funding will help GPs to underpin business decisions and provide high-quality patient care.

“Sustainable reform of the NHS means we must look to shift more care to primary and community care with a relentless focus on better outcomes for people.

The Scottish Government reform programme will develop the means to credibly restore, and further increase GP and wider primary care spend, within the overall health budget.

“This will be a long-term endeavour but this strategic shift is crucial. Our reform plans over the next period will look to explore this in partnership with key stakeholders including the GP profession.”

Addressing the separate issue of next year’s UK National Insurance contribution increases, Mr Gray added: “The UK Government’s decision to increase national insurance contributions will have a major financial impact on GPs.

“I have been very clear that this is completely unacceptable and the UK Government must fully cover the costs.  Scotland’s GPs should not be paying the price for UK Government decisions.”

The Scottish Budget for 2025-26 will be published on 4 December.