Number of Scots getting appointments with their family doctor slumps amid concerns about GP surgery 'crisis'

The number of Scots getting appointments with their family doctor has slumped amid concerns over a ‘crisis’ facing GP surgeries.

Official figures show a sharp fall in the number of appointments taking place in surgeries, on the telephone or by video.

The number of consultations taking place per month has slumped by 146,000 compared to three years ago.

The decline has been even steeper in the past 12 months, where there has been a reduction of nearly 250,000, or 14 per cent.

Critics claim the decrease is down to a ‘deepening workforce crisis’ which has left some areas ‘dangerously short’ of GPs, particularly in rural Scotland.

It follows growing concerns from patients about long waits for GP appointments, little availability and difficulty getting through to their local surgery on the phone.

Scottish Conservative deputy leader Meghan Gallacher said: ‘GP services across Scotland are in crisis on the SNP’s watch.

‘This damning data reveals the number of GP appointments has plummeted by almost 10 per cent since the last Holyrood elections.

‘Successive SNP health secretaries have completely failed to address a deepening workforce crisis in primary care which has left many areas dangerously short of GPs.

‘Under the Central Belt-focused SNP it is rural communities who are bearing the brunt of these cuts.’ Public Health Scotland data on ‘in-hours general practice visualisation’ show there were 1,462,302 direct encounters with GPs in March 2024.

This figure was down by 9 per cent compared to 1,607,927 in June 2021, which was the first full month of the current Holyrood term and a period when some pandemic-era restrictions were still in force.

It was also a decrease of 14 per cent, or 246,123, compared to March 2023, when there were 1,708,927 direct encounters between GPs and their patients.

The figures include appointments at surgeries, telephone conversations, video calls and home visits.

Surgery appointments declined from 1,114,198 in March 2023 to 993,965 in March 2024.

Office for National Statistics research published in January found 19 per cent of respondents in Scotland said their mental health had been negatively affected in the past month by waiting too long for a GP or hospital appointment.

Ms Gallacher said: ‘Unlike the SNP, we have a plan to fix this crisis. Our health paper would put a stop to vital local facilities closing, recruit 1,000 extra GPs, guarantee appointments within a week and give a greater share of the health budget to health care.’

The Scottish Government highlighted that Public Health Scotland had described its data as ‘exploratory’ and ‘does not represent all the work happening within a primary care setting’.

A spokesman said: ‘The government is committed to supporting GPs and the GP multi-disciplinary team. General practice, as part of integrated primary care, is the bedrock of the NHS.

‘Since 2018 we have enabled the recruitment of over 3,000 MDT (multidisciplinary team) staff to underpin the GP contract. These key professionals work alongside GPs to deliver critical community based services to the public and any data or research has to take a wide view of service reform and delivery.’