SCOTTISH Greens health spokeswoman Alison Johnstone has called for better funding for GP practices in deprived areas.
The Greens say changes included by the Scottish Government in the proposed new GP contract will help but do not go far enough.
Johnstone spoke about the issue at a conference in Edinburgh yesterday, entitled Addressing the Priorities for Primary Care in Scotland.
She said GPs in poorer areas should be allowed protected time for extended consultations, and to liaise more effectively with social work and mental health services.
Greens believe the GP funding formula should weight deprivation more heavily, and take differences in life expectancy into greater account.
The party would also support specific new budgets to tackle health inequalities through primary care and community health services.
Johnstone said: “The proposals for new GP contracts are an improvement over the existing arrangements, but they remain just a step in the right direction. Practices in more deprived areas will see some improvement, but not sufficient to allow them to shift their efforts from tackling patients’ immediate problems towards longer-term preventative work.
“Tackling social and economic inequality directly is vital, but we believe additional support is needed now to help recruit GPs and establish practices in under-served areas.
“Deprivation should be weighed more heavily in the revised formula, and other measures such as ring-fencing additional funding for practice development, and introducing a specific budget for tackling health
inequalities, should also be considered.
“Additional strategic funding would allow GPs in more deprived areas to hold longer consultations to take account of more complex health needs, enable them to plan ahead and give them space to work with other public services to make sure their community gets the joined-up support it needs.
“Providing robust GP services earlier is cost-efficient too, reducing the likelihood that someone will need to go to hospital with an avoidable and more serious condition.”
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