The SNP today refused to back setting a target date for a swifter return of normal, face-to-face GP services.
The Scottish Conservatives had brought forward a debate and vote calling for the Government to set a target date for increasing in-person GP appointments. Speaking during the debate, Dr Sandesh Gulhane MSP said “systemic failures” were holding back “overwhelmed” GPs from seeing more patients in-person.
He described the devastating knock-on effects of overwhelmed GP surgeries on other frontline health services, such as A&E departments and ambulance services.
The SNP’s refusal comes after weeks of reports of overwhelmed GP surgeries, with thousands of people across Scotland unable to get timely appointments or to be seen by a doctor in-person.
Scottish Conservative Shadow Public Health Minister, Dr Sandesh Gulhane MSP, said: “The SNP-Green Government’s refusal to set a target for restoring normal operations in our GP surgeries is extremely disappointing.
“The SNP cannot hide behind Covid. For years, they’ve been warned that GPs were overwhelmed and underfunded, yet they buried their heads in the sand. Now, as we recover from the worst public health crisis of our lifetimes, the SNP Government is continuing to ignore the needs of doctors and patients.
“By refusing to set out a timetable for bringing back normal face-to-face service, Humza Yousaf is letting down thousands of people across Scotland.
“My GP colleagues have gone above and beyond throughout the pandemic, going to extraordinary lengths at their own personal risk to protect public health. We are overwhelmed because the system – a system the SNP has run for 14 years - has failed us.
“We want to see more patients face-to-face but substandard government support is holding GPs back. The deep-rooted, systemic failures are leaving my colleagues burnt out, on the point of quitting, and damaging the service we can provide patients, as a result.
“The government has failed to provide the Long Covid clinics we have called for and the SNP’s flimsy NHS recovery plan has offered no solutions to increase the capacity of GP services and fix the spiralling NHS crisis.
“As we move into the winter, pressures on our NHS can only worsen. We are determined to continue to hold the SNP Government to account on these issues, and to stand up for the needs of patients and healthcare professionals across Scotland.”