Edinburgh GP crisis: Michael Matheson urged to call summit over freeze on plans for new Liberton surgery

Concerns over medical provision for Edinburgh’s growing population

New Health Secretary Michael Matheson is being urged to call a crisis summit about the latest problem over GP provision in south Edinburgh.

Plans for a new medical practice as part of the new Liberton High School campus have been put on hold because of a funding freeze, despite the growing demand for GP services due to thousands of new homes being built in the area. Five five of the local practices have already closed their lists to new patients.

The new GP practice was due to cater for up to 10,000 patients, but the Edinburgh Integration Joint Board, which oversees health and social care in the Capital, was told in February that NHS Lothian had paused all its capital commitments and so the Liberton plans were on hold. Senior health official David White told the board: “We are reaching a situation where there's going to be a large number of people who simply can't access primary care in the city, which is a fairly dire situation to be in."

There is growing demand for GP services across south Edinburgh because of the thousands of new homes being built in the area.

Now Lothian Tory MSP Miles Briggs has written to Mr Matheson – appointed last week by new First Minister Humza Yousaf to succeed him as Health Secretary – asking him to convene a meeting of all interested parties to discuss a way forward. Mr Briggs said he was also concerned about similar issues arising in other parts of the city.

In his letter he said: “A shortage of GP services is something that we are seeing across the Capital, but nowhere more so than Liberton who have been overlooked for a new GP practice for the last five to ten years.” He said all parties involved in the Liberton campus proposal had worked together in good faith to progress the plans. “Unfortunately with the current financial climate, Scottish Government have instructed all NHS boards to pause new capital projects until further direction is provided.”

Mr Briggs told the Evening News investment in GP services had failed to match the large increases in population. He said: "In Liberton we had a solution being put forward, which now isn't. So what's the plan? It's clear capacity in the area needs to be improved as soon as possible – a new medical centre needs to be built and funded and we need proper leadership."

More widely, he said there needed to be a better vision for GP services across the city. Mr Briggs said: "A lot of GPs I've spoken to want out or are planning to retire early. But at the moment everything seems to be responding to crises rather than having a proper vision of what's needed for patients. Given all the population pressures we should collectively be looking at that so we can fix this for the long term."