Dundee’s doctor’s surgeries are in crisis as the city struggles to find enough GPs to serve its patients.
More than one third of the 25 practices in the city have at least one GP vacancy.
One senior doctor said: “It’s the worst it’s been in 20 years.”
Figures show there are 10 vacant GP posts across Dundee.
Wallacetown Family Medical Group has space for eight doctors, but is running with only six.
Tay Court Surgery, Ancrum, Taybank, Nethergate, Lochee and Stobswell medical centres and Ryehill Medical Practice each have one vacancy.
Dr Andrew Cowie, chairman of Tayside Local Medical Committee and a GP at Hawkhill Medical Centre, said: “It’s the worst it’s been in the 20 years I’ve been working here.
“A recent survey of trainee GPs in Tayside showed that only three out of 20 stated they intended to stay in the area, which is incredibly low. We normally factor in about 50%.
“We have some practices that are working well but there are others where they just can’t cope with the workload.
“It’s horrible when you get patients phoning up for appointments only to be told they can’t get one, and it’s a situation I am deeply uncomfortable about.”
Margaret Watt, chairman of the Scotland Patients Association, said: “It has become a crisis, and we can’t afford to lose any more GPs.
“If these vacancies can’t be filled, it impacts even more on patients.
“It is important to note that this is not the fault of the GPs, they are working very hard to try to cover the shortfall.”
An NHS Tayside spokeswoman said: “All boards across Scotland are facing a current national shortage of GPs and NHS Tayside is no exception.
“We are actively supporting our GP colleagues through innovative models of primary care as a result of the emerging integrated joint boards through health and social care integration.
“An example of such an emerging model would be the Whitfield Local Care Centre.”