BMA Scotland's GP chair will today warn that the future of general practice hangs in the balance, telling delegates at the annual Scottish Local Medical Committee (SLMC) conference that a new funding deal offers a fragile opportunity to rebuild the profession.
The backdrop to this year’s event, titled Road to Recovery, is the agreement reached in October between GPs and the Scottish Government to end the long-running dispute over funding restoration.
The settlement followed a campaign led by the GP committee highlighting that general practice’s share of the NHS budget had slumped to just 6.2%, compared with 11% in 2008.
The terms of the deal mean that over the next three financial years, the Scottish Government has committed to invest directly in General Practice with close to an additional £250 million annually recurring by year three.
Speaking at the Scottish Local Medical Committee (SLMC) conference in Aberdeen, Dr Iain Morrison, chair of BMA Scotland’s GP Committee, will warn these next three years will be “absolutely pivotal” to the future of the profession.
He is expected to say: “General practice must be supported to manage as many people as possible in the community setting, focussing on realistic, quality, compassionate, relationship-based care that delivers for the whole population and looks to improve health inequalities.
“Only through continuity of care can those ideals be met, and continuity can only exist where there is capacity to provide it. We must work toward a future where we see substantially more GPs in long term positions meeting the needs of their smaller list sizes."
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Dr Morrison will reiterate the committee’s call for 1 full-time equivalent GP per 1,000 patients, a target he acknowledges is ambitious but essential if Scotland is to deliver “bespoke, quality, relationship-based care”.
“Let us make general practice in Scotland a vanguard in world health care,” he will say. “And this new funding allows us to take a step in that direction.”
He will argue that if the profession can demonstrate that the investment leads to safer workloads, sustainable careers, and the ability to shift more care into community settings, it will strengthen the case for increasing general practice’s share of NHS spending to 11% by the end of the next Parliament and 15% in the one after.
However, he will also caution that the moment could easily be lost.
“If we do not seize the opportunity... the confidence we have worked so hard to build will be lost,” he is expected to warn.
In a rallying call to colleagues, he will urge GPs to champion their profession, expand the workforce, and restore pride in the job.
“Let’s talk up our role and encourage new GPs to join us. Let’s inspire the doctors of tomorrow to choose general practice, and let’s welcome GPs from the rest of the UK and around the world,” he will tell the conference. “Let us be proud to be GPs once more, delivering quality care to the people we serve.”
In Summer this year, a BMA survey on GP wellbeing and funding in Scotland found that GPs are increasingly concerned about the survival of their practices with many warning there is “no realistic chance” of meeting demand from patients.
Nearly half of GPs in Scotland who responded to the survey said the future of their practice is precarious or not sustainable.
Responding to Dr Morrison, the health secretary welcomed "constructive talks" with the BMA to agree on £531 million investment over three years as he said this represents the "largest investment in core GP services to date. "
Neil Gray said: “I’m very grateful to all GPs for the key role they play in delivering care to the people of Scotland, that is going to be an expanding role under our plans.
“I thank BMA for their constructive talks and I am pleased we agreed a £531 million investment over the next three years, subject to Parliament agreeing future budgets. I said last year that I would increase investment in General Practice, and that is exactly what I have delivered in collaboration with GPs.
“This is the largest investment in core GP services to date, and it will significantly boost recruitment to deliver the capacity needed to improve services for patients and help us shift the focus of care from hospital into the community.”
