LABOUR have urged the Scottish Government to recognise that there is a GP “crisis” in Scotland.
During yesterday’s First Minister’s Questions, Richard Leonard claimed the “very survival” of GP surgeries.
He said: “The truth is that general practice and primary care are under immense pressure right across the country.
“The BMA has warned that there are workload pressures and that there is a GP shortage.
“And the truth is that Scotland is in the grip of a GP crisis. The very survival of GP surgeries is at stake.
“And incredibly, the Government still has no accurate, no up-to-date information and so no idea how many full-time equivalent GPs there are in Scotland.
“It has no accurate, and so no up-to-date information, and therefore no idea how long patients are waiting to see a GP. But we all know that they are waiting too long.
“First Minister, patients who need a GP appointment are being let down
“After 12 years of your Government, Scotland is being let down.
“First Minister, when will you finally recognise that Scotland is facing a GP crisis and that GPs and patients need a government that is on their side?”
READ MORE: Majority of new GPs in Scotland are women, figures reveal
Sturgeon pointed out that there had been increased investment in general practice.
“The number of GPs working in Scotland actually is, on the most recent figures, 5049 – that’s an increase on the previous year,” she said.
“Incidentally, there are significantly more GPs per head of population than there are in England and there are significantly more GPs in Scotland per head of population than there are in Wales, where the Labour Party is actually in government. We also, of course, are doubling from £55 million to £110m next year our primary care improvement fund, that is specifically to help accelerate the expansion of multi-disciplinary teams.
“The most recent figures show a 17.3% increase since 2006 in the number of GP training places and of course, we’re investing in GP premises.
“We are taking the action to support GPs and make sure that it is at the heart of that jewel in the crown of the Scottish NHS, which is of course primary care.
“So unlike governments elsewhere in the UK, one of which is run by Labour, this Government is getting on with the job of facing up to the challenges in the NHS in bringing to bear the solutions that both
those who work in our NHS and the patients who rely on it need.”
Elsewhere the First Minister was asked when the Scottish Government would legally ban the use of snares.
The SNP’s Christine Grahame said there was “graphic evidence of deer, badgers and even domestic cats being caught in snares”.
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