Scotland has been promised hundreds of extra GPs after signing a ground-breaking deal aimed at cutting red-tape and increasing multi-disciplinary working in practices. The country is set to learn lessons from Wales which has boosted GP recruitment with golden handshakes aimed at attracting doctors to remote rural areas. The Scottish government promised some £7.5 million…

GP leaders in Scotland say they have achieved a “historic” deal to tackle workload pressures. The country’s new GP contract will channel extra funding to the most pressed practices, according to the British Medical Association. There will also be funding for premises, aimed at reducing the risks partners face from owning buildings, from a £30…

Dozens of practices in Scotland are closed to new registrations – while others limit patient enrolments, it has been reported. In total 87 practices in the country have closed or restricted lists, the Sunday Post newspaper reported. It found that some practices have special registration days when patients are admitted to lists on a first…

GP partners in Scotland are facing huge financial liabilities for the repair of their premises, it has been reported. At least one practice is thought to face a liability of £500,000 arising from the expiry of 30-year-old leases on premises. Leading doctors said the problem explained why many rural practices struggled to find partners. The…

A drive to create GP clusters in Scotland is launched today. The Scottish government announced it was putting £7.5 million behind the project, setting out its aim that practices should collaborate more closely. It promised that every practice would have protected time to take part in clusters. Scotland currently has 142 clusters planned and all…

Scotland could introduce measures to get practices to open on public holidays, it has been announced. The Scottish government yesterday announced a review of how health and social care services are provided over public holidays. But GP leaders urged the government to be “incredibly careful” not to make life harder for the country’s GPs. The…

Most GPs in Scotland fear heavy workloads are harming the quality of care they give to patients, according to a new survey. 900 Scottish GPs took part in the survey, organised by the British Medical Association. Just 7% of doctors said they had adequate consultation times with patients while 91% warned that their workload was…