While the funds will be used to ease recruitment pressures and boost capacity, the Royal College of General Practitioners has said that the sums are not transformative.
The Scottish government has said that general practice will receive an initial additional investment of £15 million this year to ease recruitment pressures and boost capacity, though the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) has said that the sums are not transformative.
The new investment is supposed to support workforce retention and recruitment, build service capacity and support the day-to-day running of GP services.
“We want to make it easier for people to see their GP and to achieve this, we are working towards ensuring a greater proportion of new NHS funding goes to primary and community care,” said Scottish health secretary Neil Gray.
He added that the government had already increased investment in general practice by more than £100 million in the past two years to meet recommended pay increases and to support practices with sustainability.
“This funding alone will not transform general practice or undo years of underinvestment. It must be seen as the beginning of a sustained commitment to properly resource general practice – stabilising services, supporting the recruitment of more GPs, and expanding capacity to improve patient access,” said RCGP Scotland chair Chris Provan.
He said that the funding should “mark the start” of a shift in the balance of care and funding towards primary and community care.
