Leader: GP funding is welcome move

many people will recognise the frustration of phoning their GP for an appointment only to be told the first available slot is several weeks away.
Health Secretary Shona Robison announced the funding.Health Secretary Shona Robison announced the funding.
Health Secretary Shona Robison announced the funding.

Some in the Capital may have found their local doctors’ practice is slated for closure, or had trouble signing up to their local surgery.

The problems in the primary care service are not confined to Edinburgh of course, but a flick through Evening News front pages from the past year shows there is an acute problem here.

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Now the Scottish Government has responded (or made a re-announcement, according to Labour) by pledging an extra £71.6m to spend on GP recruitment and retention.

Health Secretary Shona Robison said the funding would make services “fit for the future”. Well, there certainly is some work to do.

GPs are more often than not a patient’s first contact with the NHS. Failure to access GP services early is not just bad news for the patient, it’s also adding pressure to the health service further down the line if conditions go untreated.

We will be watching closely to see how this funding is used, and hope that the days of long waits for an appointment are numbered.