Asking GP surgeries to stay open and provide extra medical cover this Christmas has been ruled out because it would be "confusing" for patients.
Asking GP surgeries to stay open and provide extra medical cover this Christmas has been ruled out because it would be "confusing" for patients.
Family doctors will shut down for two blocks of four days during the festive period - a scenario expected to put extra pressure on the NHS.
Tim Davison, head of winter planning for Scotland's health boards, said approaching GPs about providing some kind of service had been considered, but rejected.
He said it would potentially have meant some GP practices were operating, while others remained shut.
Mr Davison said: "The general feeling was we should not impose on general practices to be open over that period and if we ended up with a patchwork quilt it might actually be more confusing."
The last time GPs were on holiday for two four-day periods was over Christmas and New Year 2006-07, when a respiratory infection broke out and there was a spike in demand for beds on wards and treatment in A&E departments. GPs were criticised at the time for taking too much time off.
Neil Nichol, consultant in emergency medicine at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, said that because patients like to see their own GP, when their surgery was shut they would try to wait for it to re-open. After a number of days without treatment, he said, they could end up in hospital because their condition had deteriorated.
Other patients, he said, uncertain what to do about their illness with their practice closed, would also go to A&E.
Mr Nichol said: "There is always anxiety at this time of year because infectious problems are more common so hospitals will undoubtedly be busier."
Health service helpline NHS 24, which is largely staffed by nurses and handles calls to GPs outside surgery hours, is expecting to answer more than 136,000 phone calls from December 15 until January 4 - 15% more than last year.
Before the launch of NHS 24 late in 2004, surgeries organised their own evening and weekend cover through co-operatives.
Dr Dean Marshall, chairman of the British Medical Association's Scottish general practitioners committee, said practices closed for four-day blocks over Christmas back then and the system worked.
He said: "Now, with the resources NHS Scotland has got, I think they should be able to run it."
He added that there was no shortage of doctors willing to work shifts for the NHS during the festive season.
"There are plenty of GPs willing to work in the Christmas period, but NHS 24 and NHS Scotland are trying to save money," he said. "Our position has always been they should be employing more GPs."
Dr Marshall stressed practices would be open as usual until 6pm on Christmas Eve and again from December 29 to the end of the day on December 31.
Malcolm McWhirter, senior medical officer for the Scottish Government, also urged patients on repeat prescriptions to ensure they had enough medication before the holiday and to pack their medication if they went to stay with relatives.
