New investment to ease workforce pressures
General Practice will receive an initial additional investment of £15 million this year to ease recruitment pressures and boost capacity.
The new investment will support workforce retention and recruitment, build service capacity and support the day to day running of GP services.
The funding comes after discussions with the sector about the sustainability of GP services – negotiations will continue around further support to help shift care from acute to community.
Health Secretary Neil Gray said: “We have been listening carefully to the views of Scotland’s GPs and as a result, I am pleased to confirm an initial additional investment of £15 million for the current financial year.
“This new funding will help support capacity and ensure GPs and services in the community have the resources they need for their essential role in our health system.
“We remain in negotiations with the sector on the provision of further support in the future, but this initial instalment demonstrates this Government’s commitment to supporting primary care and alleviating current pressures on the system.
We want to make it easier for people to see their GP and to achieve this we are working towards ensuring a greater proportion of new NHS funding goes to primary and community care.
“We have already increased investment in general practice by over £100 million in the last two years to meet recommended pay increases and to support practices with sustainability.”
Commenting on the funding announcement, RCGP Scotland Chair Dr Chris Provan said: “GPs and their teams strive to deliver a high quality of care, but they are increasingly struggling to meet the demand from a growing population with more complex needs – all while the GP workforce continues to shrink.
“RCGP Scotland welcomes the investment of £15 million in this financial year as a positive step. However, this funding alone will not transform general practice or undo years of underinvestment.
“It must be seen as the beginning of a sustained commitment to properly resource general practice – stabilising services, supporting the recruitment of more GPs, and expanding capacity to improve patient access.
“The Scottish Government has pledged to shift the balance of care and funding towards primary and community care. Investing in general practice delivers better health outcomes and offers significant value to patients, the wider NHS, the economy, and society.
“Today’s announcement must mark the start of that shift, which now needs to be accelerated to ensure general practice is strengthened and supported to deliver the high-quality care patients deserve.”