103 Days Worth of Out-of-Hours GP Sessions 'Not Staffed in Last Three Months'
More than 100 days' worth of out-of-hours sessions for general practice were not staffed in the last three months, according to new research from Scottish Labour.
Information uncovered by Scottish Labour public services spokesman Dr Richard Simpson found that there had been 826 unfilled sessions in the last three months, equating to 103 full days.
In NHS Lanarkshire, where out-of-hours services have been reduced from five to two centres, there were 209 unfilled sessions. NHS Tayside, where the centres in Perth and Angus are partly closed, had 275 unfilled sessions.
An out-of-hours session is a GP covering a period outside of the normal working hours of nine to six. These sessions tend to be three to four hours long and with longer sessions through the night.
The figures come after what Scottish Labour have called a crisis in Scottish general practice'', with investment in GPs having fallen by more than ÂŁ1 billion since 2005/06 and around two million patients in Scotland served by understaffed and under-resourced practices.
Dr Simpson said: I had the privilege of serving a community as a GP for thirty years, but today family doctors are facing the biggest crisis general practice has seen in a generation.
Under the SNP Government in Edinburgh we have seen a drop in funding totalling over ÂŁ1 billion, fewer medical students, fewer trainee vacancies being filled and now fewer out-of-hours sessions being staffed.
This problem is only going to get worse in the next decade. SNP ministers have been in denial for far too long.
Action now is vital because general practice in trouble will affect every part of our NHS, from missed waiting times for mental health to increasing pressure on A&E because people can't see a local doctor. This is the middle of summer; if it is still this bad in winter we will begin to see real problems.
Since the SNP came to power they have squeezed health spending in Scotland harder than the Tories in England and our communities are feeling the effects.''
The Scottish Government has committed to investing in and improving Scottish GP services.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: We fundamentally value GPs and - while Scotland has more GPs per head of population than the rest of the UK - we recognise they are working very hard for their patients across the country.
We are working with the BMA on a new GP contract that supports GPs and cuts red tape so more time can be spent with patients. We have also commissioned a review of out-of-hours care, which will provide clear recommendations to support those who need urgent care.
This is in addition to the action we've already taken to increase the number of GPs in Scotland and investing ÂŁ60 million in the Primary Care Fund.''