BMA Scotland has published a survey showing the difficulties many medical practices are facing. The survey found that more than a third of practices reported having at least one GP vacancy, compared to a quarter of practices a year ago. This was occurring as demand for general practices continued to outstrip supply. GPs report that the number one problem in their working lives is an unmanageable workload. However, another negative impact of their working lives was the continuing abuse of GPs and their teams, a trend unchanged from a year ago despite all political parties supporting action to reduce this.
A survey taken in 2021 suggested that in a given week 10% of Scotland’s population access general practices. Clearly, this is a service which the entirety of Scottish society relies on, to provide quality healthcare and medical recommendations. However, if these funding pressures continue to negatively impact general practices, it is ethnic minority communities will suffer the most. Research has already shown that non-White individuals in the UK face inequality in healthcare access. There are several reasons for this disparity, such as language barriers, cultural differences, and the geographical distribution of ethnic minority communities. To help keep access to general practices open to ethnic minority communities additional funding has been required to be set aside for this purpose. Now as spending cuts impact the NHS it is likely that these funds will be disproportionately affected, further limiting the ability of BAME Scots to receive necessary healthcare.
Dr Andrew Buist said while being interviewed by the BBC:
“The majority of GP surgeries are saying there is simply not enough capacity to meet the demand for care. However, I am deeply disappointed that there has been no improvement at all in twelve months despite pledges from the Scottish Government to support general practice and recruit more doctors.”
He continued to say that while nationally 1,000 GPs are needed right now, the Scottish Government will potentially fail its goal of recruiting 700 more by 2027, putting further pressure on the health service in both the short and long terms. He called on the government to reverse the £70 million of cuts planned to hit the NHS.
Shadow Health secretary Sandesh Gulhane said of the survey:
“At the heart of the damning findings of this survey is the SNP’s dire workforce planning which, even before the pandemic, left GPs and practices under incredible pressure. That was only exacerbated by Covid and the SNP’s failures to step up and support GPs like me. The SNP have slashed £65 million from the primary care budget as well as £5 million in crucial support payments, meaning GPs will be trying to meet patient demand with even fewer resources”.
The NHS has suffered from financial neglect at the hands of the Scottish Government. These are economically difficult times for the whole of the nation, but this should encourage the government to provide further support to healthcare services, which have been central to keeping the nation safe, especially in the aftermath of the COVID-19 Pandemic.