An additional £13.6 million will be invested in General Practice
this financial year to support GPs to retain and recruit key
staff, Health Secretary has announced.
Speaking at the annual conference of BMA Scotland's Local Medical
Committees, Mr Gray confirmed the immediate funding for 2024-25
will address known financial pressures, support staff costs and
enable GPs to take on partners and salaried GP staff.
Mr Gray said:
“I recognise the significant financial and workload challenges
facing both the NHS as a whole and General Practice, especially
during this period of high demand, and understand the significant
strain this places on GPs.
“My focus remains firmly on finding ways to recruit more GPs,
even within the constraints of the current financial climate, and
that is why I am allocating an additional £13.6 million for
General Practice this financial year to support staff costs. This
additional funding will help GPs to underpin business decisions
and provide high-quality patient care.
“Sustainable reform of the NHS means we must look to shift more
care to primary and community care with a relentless focus on
better outcomes for people. The Scottish Government reform
programme will develop the means to credibly restore, and further
increase GP and wider primary care spend, within the overall
health budget. This will be a long-term endeavour but this
strategic shift is crucial. Our reform plans over the next period
will look to explore this in partnership with key stakeholders
including the GP profession.”
Addressing the separate issue of next year's UK National
Insurance contribution increases, Mr Gray added:
“The UK Government's decision to increase national insurance
contributions will have a major financial impact on GPs.
“I have been very clear that this is completely unacceptable and
the UK Government must fully cover the costs. Scotland's
GPs should not be paying the price for UK Government decisions.”
Background:
The Scottish Budget for 2025-26 will be published on 4 December.
