The SNP’s “overwhelming failure” to recruit GPs in the Borders, means the number of GPs working in the area is the same as it was in 2017.
Scottish Conservative MSP Rachael Hamilton has uncovered the figures after she questioned SNP Health Secretary Humza Yousaf in Parliament in September, on the issue following the closure of Coldingham medical practice.
He has now responded to Rachael Hamilton which shows that as of last year there were 121 GPs working in the Borders as of 2020 the exact same as there were three years previously.
She says that Humza Yousaf’s response highlights a long-term failure of the SNP Government to recruit GPs in rural health boards, leaving many communities without easy access to a GP in their own community.
Despite Humza Yousaf attempting to spin a positive picture, fewer than one in six of the new GPs that have been recruited since 2017 are working in rural health boards.
Commenting, Scottish Conservative MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh & Berwickshire Rachael Hamilton said:
“Humza Yousaf’s response reveals an overwhelming failure of the SNP Government to recruit new GPs in the Borders.
“It is shameful that the number of GPs working in the area has remained completely static in recent years. That is putting even more pressure on our GPs who are overwhelmed and have gone above and beyond during the pandemic.
“The recent closure of Coldingham medical practice reveals a growing concern. The SNP Government are continuing to fail to fully resource NHS Borders and making it harder and harder for rural communities to easily access frontline health services on their doorstep.
"Successive SNP Health Secretaries have dithered and delayed and ignored the need to recruit more GPs in the Borders and across rural Scotland.
“We must urgently see leadership from Humza Yousaf and a clear plan that will ensure patient demand for GP services across the Borders is guaranteed to be met going forward.”