Scottish GP workforce faces 'severe difficulties'

Doctors leaders in Scotland have warned that general practice is facing severe workforce problems after a survey revealed that almost 60 per cent of GPs were planning to leave or cut their hours. The survey, carried out by ComRes for the Royal College of General Practitioners (Scotland), found that nearly nine in 10 of those questioned felt that lack of resources was putting patients at risk. Meanwhile, 77 per cent said they worried about missing something serious with a patient because of their workload. The findings were released in the last week of campaigning before the Scottish Parliament elections on 5 May. BMA Scottish GPs chair Alan McDevitt, who is a Clydebank GP, said the results were no surprise and that they mirrored a recent BMA survey, which found that 26 per cent of practices in Scotland had at least one vacant GP post — up from 17 per cent the previous year. He added: ‘Scotland and the UK as a whole are facing severe difficulties in recruiting and retaining GPs and that problem is only getting worse. ‘There are simply not enough GPs to meet the demands being put upon general practice.’   'Wholesale departure' Royal College of GPs Scotland chair Miles Mack said a ‘wholesale departure’ of GPs looked likely. Dr McDevitt said the BMA was working towards a new contract for general practice in Scotland to help address workload but that general practice had to be resourced properly if it was to be sustainable. He added: &lsqu...
Source: BMA News - Category: UK Health Source Type: news