NINE GP surgeries in Scotland are being supported by health boards because they cannot deliver the patient services required, according to a letter from Health Secretary Shona Robison.
The practices include a number in Forth Valley where the health board had to step in because vacancies for doctors could not be filled.
Ms Robison revealed the figure in a letter to Dr Richard Simpson, Scottish Labour's public health spokesman, which hit back at claims that more surgeries - up to 42 - had been taken under health board control because of emergencies and special circumstances.
Ms Robison said in her letter that it was legitimate for health boards to run GP practices for a number of reasons. Her examples include a practice designed specifically for the homeless in Edinburgh, a practice embedded in a new healthy living centre and a number based in remote and rural areas.
Her letter said these health board-run practices "have accounted for around 30-40 practices out of nearly 1,000 each year for the past 10 years, so the assertion that the boards have had to step in to support a suddenly increased number is simply inaccurate".
However, she added: "I do acknowledge that a small number of GP practices in Scotland are currently receiving direct support from the NHS boards because they are facing a range of difficulties in delivering the GMS (GP contract) requirements.
"At the time of writing, there are nine GP practices receiving support of this nature."
Dr Simpson accused Ms Robison of "denying there is a major problem" with the growing shortage of GPs.
He said: "Any increase at all in the number of (health board run) practices is a sign that things are dangerous. Bannockburn used to be one of the best practices in Stirling. It was very highly regarded so for it to go to the wall is a real shock."
His own survey of 330 GP practices found 92 unfilled GP vacancies and 68 vacancies for sessional GPs who provide cover when doctors are sick or on holiday. Since he carried it out Dr Simpson said GPs had written to him saying they could not offer the quality services they wanted to patients because appointments were under such strain.
The Scottish Government has announced a £50 million fund to address immediate workload and recruitment issues and have worked with the British Medical Association to discuss the issues with doctors nationwide.
Dr Simpson said £50m was a "tiny, tiny" amount that would not fix the problems.
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