Just one in 20 GPs in Scotland believe their practice is sustainable in the long term, according to a stark new survey.

About a third of doctors said their practice is already in a “precarious” situation in the survey conducted by the British Medical Association and published yesterday. The survey involved more than 850 doctors and 43% said there is no realistic chance in the near future of their practice being able to meet patient demand for access. 60% said they feared for the future of their practice if they lost a GP while 28% said their workload is unmanageable. 85% of the doctors said they sometimes or regularly struggle to cope – and that the pressure of work is having a negative impact on their physical and mental wellbeing.

Dr Andrew Buist, chair of the BMA’s Scottish GP committee, said: “These statistics show once again just how precarious the position is for practices and GPs themselves across Scotland. It is a very bleak situation, and already many GPs fear the practices they work in are simply not sustainable in the long-term – leading, of course, to further worry for patients about accessing care, and continuity of care.

“Significantly, our survey suggests this is only going to get worse given the current direction of travel, with a quarter of GPs saying they will leave their current practice in the next two years, and three quarters saying the last year has made them more likely to leave the profession altogether. That paints a very worrying picture for the future of GP services.”

He added: “The Scottish government must take this situation seriously and show greater willingness for increased investment in core general practice services to maintain stability. And while there must be concerted action on the recruitment of more GPs – including the investment needed to support that in practices – crucially, action must be taken to retain the GPs we currently have and stop them from leaving the profession prematurely. It is no good recruiting 20 if you lose 25 in the process. We need an urgent review of the 800 additional GPs target by 2027 – both to see how many more are now needed on top of that, and the progress – or lack of – in terms of reaching the target, and what must be done to get us back on track.”

A spokesperson for the Scottish government said: “We are grateful to GPs for the vital service they provide and thank them for their efforts in the face of sustained pressure. GPs can access a range of resources, including the national wellbeing hub, a 24/7 compassionate listening service, confidential mental health treatment, coaching for wellbeing and psychological therapies. We have delivered a record number of GPs working in Scotland, with more per head than any other country in the UK and we are making good progress on our commitment to recruit at least 800 new GPs by 2027. Since 2017 Scotland’s GP headcount has increased by 291 to a record of 5,209 in 2022. We have 4,731 staff working in multi-disciplinary teams providing services including physiotherapy, pharmacy and phlebotomy. We continue to support development of these teams through our investment of £170 million per year in the primary care improvement fund.”