Doctors welcome primary care plans, but ‘more needed’

Scottish GPs have warned new plans of how the Primary Care Fund are to be distributed may be ‘insufficient’ in tackling the skills gap and funding shortfalls in the profession.

Details of how the Primary Care fund will be spent this morning were published by the Scottish Government, based on recommendations by the professional bodies.

The investment of £50m will address immediate workload and recruitment issues and pay for GPs to try new ways of working over the next three years in the lead up to the new GP contract for Scotland which is currently being negotiated.

Dr Elaine McNaughton, Royal College of General Practitioners (Scotland) Deputy Chair (Policy), said: “This week, RCGP Scotland released a blueprint for Scottish general practice and we are pleased to see some of its recommendations being followed.

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“We will support all investment to increase recruitment to what is an extremely rewarding career choice, but also believe that the situation requires a much larger response.”

General practice has seen continual cuts, she added. “We have reservations about how sufficient these measures will be in meeting the recommendations outlined in a blueprint for Scottish general practice.”

McNaughton also supported increased investment in recruitment, but said more action was needed. “We also need to see specific additional action to address the retention of currently serving GPs who may otherwise see fit to leave the profession, and to encourage those who have already left, to return. It is insufficient for us to endorse further exploration of the issues alone,” she said.​

Cabinet Secretary for Health Shona Robison said she was committed to working constructively with doctors.

“We’re also working on a completely new GP contract to be in place by 2017, which will implement much of the learning from the next few years to redesign these services in a collaborative way.

“Our commitment to having a public debate on the future of NHS services beyond 2020 will include a focus on what patients, the public and health professionals think about their primary care services and what models of care would work best,” she said.

Dr Alan McDevitt, chair of the British Medical Association’s Scottish GP Committee, said: “General practice is the cornerstone of the health service and it is vital that we invest in it now to ensure it is sustainable for the future.”

Optometrists and pharmacists are being encouraged to work in general practice and there will also be an investment in digital services.

A total of £10m is also being invested in primary care mental health services to encourage innovative ways of encouraging better identification and management of patients with mental health needs in the community.