The concerns of stressed GPs will be put to Health Minister Humza Yousaf MSP in the coming days.
Mr Yousaf will meet with the joint chairs of the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) Dr Chris Williams and Tayside GP Dr David Shackles.
Doctors in Tayside have spoken out about the pressures of working through the pandemic.
And to voice concerns, the RCGP wrote to Mr Yousaf after he was appointed in May to meet him at the “earliest opportunity”.
Tayside GP Dr David Shackles, who is also RCGP Scotland Joint Chair, said: “We are very keen to meet with him to discuss the urgent challenges facing general practice.
“General practice is key to the sustainable recovery of the NHS following the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Alongside dealing with additional pressures, within general practice, we’re also currently looking ahead to winter planning.
“GPs are working harder than ever before and will continue to do so as lockdown measures ease.
“However, we are concerned about the longer-term impact of the pandemic on our profession and particularly on our ability to recruit and retain staff within general practice.”
Shocking report
A recent report which gave damning evidence of the effects of the pandemic on GPs revealed:
- A shocking nine out of 10 GPs and practice staff have faced physical and verbal abuse.
- 70% of GPs are now more likely to take early retirement or leave.
- 73.3% are struggling to cope with work and say it’s impacting their physical and mental wellbeing.
- 66.8% say their current workload is unmanageable.
- 57% say it has worsened since the pandemic.
- 62% feel unable to achieve a good work/life balance.
- Almost 40% say this is impacting their lives outside work.
Dr Shackles added: “We would very much welcome the opportunity to meet with Mr Yousaf, to discuss how we can work collaboratively to ensure general practice has what it needs to support its patients and play its role in the recovery of the health service in the months and years ahead.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Health Secretary has accepted an invitation to meet with representatives from the RCGP at a mutually convenient time to discuss issues facing the health care workforce and what more we might do to support them at this time.”
People should use NHS Inform and Community Pharmacy services where possible to reduce pressure on GP practices, the advised.
“However patients needing urgent medical attention shouldn’t hesitate to contact their practice.
“We now have a record number of GPs working in Scotland with more per head in Scotland than rest of UK.
“In 2017, we committed to increasing the number of GPs by at least 800 over the next ten years. We remain committed to that target with the number of GPs increasing by 215 over the last two years. We have also committed to increase funding for Primary Care by 25% over the course of this Parliament.”