GP services moving in the right direction - Ian Murray
As part of my long-running campaign for better GP services in Edinburgh South, last week I met with officials from NHS Lothian to receive an update on the state of local primary care.
I’m pleased to report that there are some positive developments to share. One of the main issues in recent years has been capacity: there have simply been too few places to meet demand. New houses everywhere but nearly a decade of the SNP Scottish Government denying there was even an issue. But the situation is improving. All local GP practices now have open lists and are accepting new patients. Capacity will increase further with the new GP facility at the new Liberton High School campus, which, once up and running, will provide approximately 4,000 additional places.
Another significant issue in recent years has been accessing GP appointments, with residents facing extremely frustrating appointment booking systems and phone waiting times. While these issues are ongoing, I am hearing directly from constituents that they are beginning to ease as hard pressed practices introduce new systems and ways of working.
Of course, an obvious way to streamline access to healthcare in the 21st century would be to introduce an NHS app through which patients can book appointments and order prescriptions. English patients have had such an app available to them for years. Here in Scotland, however, the Scottish Government have not yet managed to get their heads around it. They could use the English technology but, well, it’s English.
Nevertheless, the news on capacity and access represents a marked improvement compared with a few short years ago, when GP services were in crisis and most local practices were operating with closed or heavily restricted lists. I want to thank NHS Lothian for taking residents’ concerns seriously and acting to address them. I am also grateful to the 1700 people who have signed my petition on the issue, whose support has helped provide the momentum needed to secure these improvements. I also want to pay a huge tribute to the hardworking and dedicated local GP practices.
While these developments are welcome, I do, however, remain concerned about longer-term capacity. South Edinburgh's population continues to grow, particularly in the south-east of the city, with thousands of new homes planned in Liberton and Gilmerton in the coming years.
To keep pace with growing demand, the Scottish Government must properly invest in expanding GP services over the longer term. Despite receiving an additional £12 billion from the UK Labour Government since July 2024, the Scottish Government has failed to use that money to fund projects that would help communities like ours.
South of the border, the Labour government has left no stone unturned in its mission to improve the health service, recruiting an extra 2000 GPs and providing 5 million additional appointments in just 2 years. It would be fantastic to see the Scottish Government match this zeal to improve the NHS here in Scotland.
Through this campaign, and my wider Building Better Places campaign, I will continue to argue for the infrastructure our communities need, and I will work with everyone I can to improve local services.
One person who I am pleased will be joining the fight for better services in South Edinburgh is Ruth Elliott, who became Southside Newington’s newest councillor last Thursday. Thank you to everyone who put their trust in Ruth. I look forward to welcoming into the hard-working South Edinburgh team, and working with her to secure improvements for our communities on GP services and much more.