First Minister has announced 24 more areas
will benefit from new GP-led walk-in services across Scotland,
bringing the number of centres planned or operational to 40.
Work is underway with health boards to establish new walk-in
services for communities including Angus, Dumbarton, East
Kilbride, East Renfrewshire, Edinburgh, Falkirk, Glasgow,
Inverness, North Ayrshire, Paisley, Shotts, Tweeddale and West
Lothian. Many will be able to open within a year.
Proposals are also in development for walk-in services in
communities in Ayr, East Dumbartonshire, Glasgow, Glasgow North
East, Glenrothes, Grangemouth, Inverclyde, Musselburgh, North
Lanarkshire and Oban.
It comes as First Minister marked the official opening of
the 11th GP walk-in service in Buckhaven in Fife and announced an
extension of the pilot programme until April 2029.
The GP walk-in pilot is testing new ways of accessing same-day
care from GPs, Advanced Nurse Practitioners or other clinicians
at a wider range of times. They have been designed to provide
more choice for patients while helping to relieve pressure on
wider NHS services.
Speaking at the service at Randolph Wemyss Community Hospital,
the First Minister said:
I promised that my government would break from the status quo and
introduce a new way for patients to access same day care and we
are delivering on that commitment. We are listening and want to
create more choice for patients, closer to home and without the
need for a pre-booked appointment.
In the first six months since we opened the first service in
February, more than 10,500 walk-in cases have been seen. As these
services are phased in to become fully operational, seven days a
week, I am confident that many more people will benefit.
The opening of our newest GP walk-in service, in Fife, is an
important milestone in the roll-out of this pilot project,
fulfilling my government's commitment to open five new walk-in
centres within our first 100 days of office. We have done this in
Aberdeen, Dunoon, Invergordon, Cardonald and Buckhaven.
This is part of my Government's wider agenda to provide patients
with greater choice and access to care closer to home in turn
relieving pressure on hospitals and acute services. It will
complement our trusted network of GP practices across the
country, which we are bolstering with historic additional
investment to recruit more GPs with £531 million to 2029.
Background
Walk-in services | NHS
inform
Since February 2026, 11 services have opened in Aberdeen City,
Benbecula, Buckhaven, Cardonald, Dunoon Hawick, Invergordon,
Lerwick, Lochee, Stranraer and Wester Hailes. More GP walk-in
centres are planned to open in 2026-27 in Aberdeenshire, Alloa,
Clydesdale, East Ayrshire and Moray.
New walk-in services will serve communities in the following
areas to meet the Scottish Government's 100 day's commitment to
identify 14 new locations for GP walk-in services:
- Arbroath
- Dumbarton
- Livingston
- Paisley
- Inverness
- Leith
- Shotts
- Falkirk
- East Kilbride
- Tweeddale
- East Renfrewshire
- Irvine
- North Lanarkshire
- Grangemouth
- Musselburgh
- Glenrothes
- Ayr
- East Dunbartonshire
- Inverclyde
- Oban
- Glasgow City
- Glasgow North East
- Glasgow Southside
- Glasgow North West
This builds on the 16 services announced in February which are
open, or in delivery.
- Wester Hailes
- Lochee
- Benbecula
- Stranraer
- Lerwick
- Hawick
- Invergordon
- Aberdeen
- Cardonald
- Dunoon
- Moray
- Sauchie
- Inverurie
- Lanark
- Kilmarnock
- Buckhaven
