Scottish Government pledges £100 million to reduce pressure on GPs

The way GP contracts are structured will change to reduce pressure on family doctors.

A poll of doctors found more than seven out of 10 (71.5%) were in favour of adopting the new deal, which was drawn up by the Scottish Government and the British Medical Association.

The new contract - which is backed with £100 million of Scottish Government funding in its first year - aims to reduce the workload family doctors face at the same time as bringing in a minimum earning expectation of just over £80,000 a year.

Ministers will also provide additional funding to help GPs with the risks that come with owning or leasing their own premises.

The contract - which will come into force on April 1 - was drawn up in a bid to refocus the role of family doctors as "expert medical generalists''.

Dr Alan McDevitt, chair of the BMA's Scottish GP committee, said: "I am delighted that the proposed contract that we have worked with the Scottish Government to create will now be implemented.

"I truly believe that this contract offers stability and security of funding for practices in Scotland, and will help to reduce the pressures of GP workload and improve GP recruitment and retention.''

He said "inevitably'' not all doctors would back the changes, with particular concerns about the impact on rural services.

To address this, he said a working group would look for "further ways in which rural general practice can be supported''.

Dr McDevitt said: "This contract offers something to GP practices in every part of Scotland and I hope that young doctors will be encouraged by the direction we are going in to choose a career in general practice.''

Health Secretary Shona Robison said: "This new contract, which is a historic joint agreement between the Scottish Government and the BMA, will ensure that GPs are able to spend more time with patients and less time on bureaucracy. It will cut doctors' overall workload and make general practice an even more attractive career prospect.

"We've worked shoulder to shoulder with the British Medical Association to develop this contract and the fact it has the support of the members means I am confident it is the very best deal for GPs right across the country as well as for patients themselves.''

Conservative health spokesman Miles Briggs also welcomed the deal but said less than two-fifths of GPs had taken part in the ballot, describing turnout as "disappointing''.

He said: "Concerns have been raised that GPs based in rural and deprived practices will see a reduction in funding while more affluent urban areas will see their incomes increase.''

Labour health spokesman Anas Sarwar said the new contract for GPs was "not enough'', adding: "There is a chronic shortage of general practitioners, in line with the staffing shortages across our NHS after a decade of SNP mismanagement.

"More must be done to the plug the gap that exists in GP practices in order to relieve the pressure on doctors and reduce waiting times for patients."

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