General Practitioner Services (Mid Scotland and Fife)

Under the legal framework for service provision, national health service boards are responsible for ensuring the provision of primary medical services for their areas. NHS Fife works with general practitioner practices to ensure that everyone in Fife has access to GP services.

I recently discussed a number of issues with the chair of NHS Fife. I assure Claire Baker that we are determined, through our investment of £60 million, to tackle recruitment and retention issues.

Some of those issues will be addressed in the medium to long term as we encourage more young doctors into general practice. In the meantime, we are doing everything that we can through recruitment and retention initiatives to attract both people who may have left the profession but might be encouraged to come back and those who are looking for positions in the health service in Scotland. We are offering opportunities for GPs and others to come and work in the NHS in Scotland and are looking at every opportunity to promote those.

Claire Baker mentioned the surgery in Methil. It is not uncommon for boards to take over practices to ensure continuity of service to patients, and it should not be viewed as negative.

I accept—as I am sure Claire Baker has heard me say before—that we have a lot more to do to ensure the sustainability of GP services in Fife and elsewhere in Scotland, but we are determined to do that.

I am sure that Jim Hume will be aware of all the discussions that we are having around making general practice more attractive. The new contract discussions are under way; we are looking at a transition year, with a major dismantling of the quality outcome framework arrangements in advance of a new contract being put in place; and there are new models of primary care, all of which are designed to encourage young doctors to choose general practice as an option.

We will look at the other mechanisms or methods that we require in order to make general practice the choice of young doctors and we are looking at how we expand access to medicine. We have also, of course, just expanded the number of GP training places by a third.

We are doing a lot of comprehensive work on the issue. Some parts of that will take a bit longer than other parts to deliver, but the member can be assured that we absolutely give the matter top priority.