Gray confirms additional £13.6m for general practice to help with staffing

The Scottish Government has provided a further £13.6 million to general practice to help with staffing.

Speaking at the conference of British Medical Association (BMA) Scotland’s local medical committee on Friday, health secretary Neil Gray said his focus and that of the Government remains “firmly on finding ways to recruit more GPs”.

The announcement comes as the chairman of the BMA Scottish general practitioners committee, Dr Iain Morrison, urged the Government to increase funding from 6.5% of the NHS budget to 15% to allow for the recruitment of 1,800 whole-time equivalent GPs.

Addressing the conference, Gray said: “I recognise the significant financial and workload challenges facing both the NHS as a whole and general practice, especially during this period of high demand, and understand the significant strain this places on GPs.

“My focus remains firmly on finding ways to recruit more GPs, even within the constraints of the current financial climate, and that is why I am allocating an additional £13.6m for general practice this financial year to support staff costs.

“This additional funding will help GPs to underpin business decisions and provide high-quality patient care.

“Sustainable reform of the NHS means we must look to shift more care to primary and community care with a relentless focus on better outcomes for people.

“The Scottish Government reform programme will develop the means to credibly restore, and further increase GP and wider primary care spend, within the overall health budget.

“This will be a long-term endeavour but this strategic shift is crucial.

“Our reform plans over the next period will look to explore this in partnership with key stakeholders, including the GP profession.”

The health secretary also took aim at the UK Government’s decision to increase employer national insurance contributions.

He said it will have a “major financial impact on GPs”.

Gray added: “I have been very clear that this is completely unacceptable, and the UK Government must fully cover the costs.

“Scotland’s GPs should not be paying the price for UK Government decisions.”

The UK Government has been asked for comment.