Figures show hundreds of GPs have taken early retirement since 2020
Only a handful of doctors each year wait until they reach the state retirement age.
Figures show more than 1,100 GPs have taken early retirement in the last five years with only a handful of doctors each year waiting until they reach the state retirement age.
Just 25 GPs waited until the set retirement age (currently 66 for men and women), according to figures from the Scottish Public Pensions Agency.
That compares to the 1,158 GPs who took their pension earlier than this.
The figures - obtained by the Scottish Liberal Democrats - come after data showed the number of GPs in Scotland has "continued to decrease", from 3,478.4 whole-time equivalents (WTE) in 2023 to 3,453.1 WTE in 2024.
What else did the survey show?
The 2024 General Practice Workforce Survey also revealed a rise in sickness absence, prompting concerns about family doctors being "burnt-out" and "overwhelmed".
In the year ending March 31 2024, there were around 5,500 GP sessions lost as a result of sickness - up 15% from the previous year.
Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: "When so many GPs are retiring early, it's little wonder people are struggling to get an appointment, with some phoning their surgeries hundreds of times a day and often getting nowhere.
"Right now, GPs feel burnt-out, overwhelmed and under immense pressure.
"There's no real incentive for them to stay and if the chance comes to leave, they're keen to take it."
Mr Cole-Hamilton said his party has "repeatedly urged SNP ministers to address the crisis in primary care", with the recent Budget deal struck with the Scottish Government including an additional £14 million to fund local health care in a bid to improve GP access.
But Mr Cole-Hamilton said the Government "must ensure this money is spent on measures that will help, such as recruiting specialists in pharmacy, physiotherapy and mental health to work alongside GPs".
He added: "That's how we can ease their workloads, make it easier for them to see patients and get more people swift access to the local health care they need."
What has the BMA said?
Dr Iain Morrison, chair of the British Medical Association's Scottish general practitioners committee, said: "It's no surprise that GPs are retiring early rather than trying to continue to struggle on with the monumental pressures that practices are facing, including reduced resources, higher costs and record levels of demand. Many are angry, demoralised and burnt out."
Dr Morrison added: "As patients who are struggling to get appointments know, the NHS in Scotland cannot afford to lose any more GPs, and in particular it should not be losing the most experienced doctors who still have many more years to give.
"For far too long, general practice has been starved of funding, with its share of the NHS budget falling from 11% in 2004 to approximately 6% now. This has directly led to the number of whole-time equivalent GPs flatlining and then receding.
"We urge the Scottish Government to provide more direct investment into general practice, with a target of 15% of the NHS budget which would allow one-full time GP per 1,000 patients."
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: "GPs play a vital role in our health service and we are determined to increase the number of GPs by 800 by 2027, increasing capacity in general practice and making it more consistent across Scotland.
"We have a higher number of GPs per head of population than the rest of the UK.
"In November last year we published a plan setting out a suite of 20 actions that we will take to improve GP recruitment and retention."
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