GPs in Scotland are increasingly reluctant to work in out of hours services, leading them having to rely on nurses to respond to calls, according to new data.

Most Scottish health boards have reported a decline in doctor availability – with the numbers of GPs working in out of hours service more than halving in districts such as Fife, Forth Valley and Dumfries and Galloway, according to Public Health Scotland. There was also a significant decline in Glasgow and the Western Isles while only Tayside reported an increase in GP numbers, according to the analysis.

Nearly half the hours were provided by 9% of the GPs in the service, working for 1,000 hours a year or more, the analysis found. In total 1,892 doctors worked for the service last year compared with 2,467 in 2019. Public Health Scotland found that the younger GPs and women GPs were most reluctant to work in the service. It reported that last year eight of the country’s 11 NHS boards had to take weekly action to fill shifts, including by using nurses or reducing triage cover.

The Royal College of GPs said the findings were “highly disappointing”.

Scottish joint chair Dr David Shackles said: “It is crucial that Out of Hours general practice be a place where GPs and other doctors feel supported, not overwhelmed, and can work safely. As demonstrated in the survey results, older GPs work a disproportionate number of hours (and 9% do almost half the work) in Out of Hours services. As these GPs retire, it will be essential to retain and recruit a sufficient number of GPs, moving forward. There are no contingencies should Out of Hours services collapse, and so every effort must be made by the Scottish Government to ensure the continued operation of the Out of Hours service.”

Dr Shackles added: “It is imperative that every OoH service has defined and sufficient senior GP leadership posts as well as options for salaried doctors to work in the Out of Hours service – with protected time for learning and training intrinsic to those sessions.”