Survey shows falling number of GPs

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today said that the SNP government must overhaul their botched NHS Recovery Plan after a new workforce survey found that the number of GPs continues to drop.

The 2024 General Practice Workforce Survey found that:

• The number of GP whole-time equivalent (WTE) continued to decrease, from 3,478 in 2023 to 3,453.1 in 2024. This follows a fall from 3,493.9 in 2022.
• The number of GP sessions lost to sickness absence was around 15% higher than in 2022/23.
• GP practices in Scotland reported using 348.2 WTE locums, a slight rise on the previous year.

The Scottish Government has a target of recruiting an additional 800 GPs by 2027, which the Royal College of General Practitioners has previously said it is not on track to meet.

Mr Cole-Hamilton said:

“People are ringing their surgeries hundreds of times a day to see a GP, often getting nowhere.

“After three years, it couldn’t be clearer that the SNP’s NHS Recovery Plan is bust. That plan is failing patients, staff and services every single day.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats would overhaul it to include a strategy that prevents staff burnout and puts the voices of clinicians at the heart of government decision-making. We would also draw on the wider skills that exist in mental health, physiotherapy, pharmacy and more, lessening the load on GPs and getting you fast access to the best care locally.”