‘Patients and staff are being let down’: scale of out-of-hours GP crisis revealed
ByKieran Andrews
Several communities across Courier country are affected. Image: Shutterstock.
Weeks’ worth of Tayside GP sessions were not filled over a three-month period, shock new research has revealed.
The findings cover around a month of the time after the specialist unit at Perth Royal Infirmary shut its doors between 11pm and 8am.
NHS Tayside blamed a “national shortage of GPs” for the temporary reduced opening hours of the popular primary care emergency centre.
Research by Labour uncovered the region as having the highest percentage of unfilled sessions in Scotland, with almost 300 out-of-hours sessions unstaffed.
The party’s public services spokesman, Dr Richard Simpson, said: “It’s clear that under the SNP Government at Holyrood patients and staff are being let down.”
The Scottish Government insisted it has committed to investing in and improving GP services.
‘Patients and staff are being let down’: scale of out-of-hours GP crisis revealed
