Members' Business - Jamie Greene MSP: GP Recruitment in West Kilbride and Across Scotland

That the Parliament notes with concern the recent issue experienced at West Kilbride’s General Practice (GP) surgery in North Ayrshire where it understands that the practice struggled to find sufficient replacement GPs to meet its demands, which could have led to its indefinite closure; further understands that, although locums were eventually found to keep it open until at least Christmas 2017, this issue is far from resolved; believes that the management of the surgery handed back their GP contract earlier in summer 2017 citing “concerns over the sustainability of continuing to deliver a safe and effective service” as their reason for doing so; highlights what it understands was RCGP Scotland’s recent warning that Scotland could have a shortfall of 828 GPs across the country by 2021 and believes that this is well illustrated in the outcome of the West Kilbride practice; understands that West Kilbride is not the only area in Scotland where GP shortages have been highlighted and that other NHS boards, such as NHS Lothian, have also experienced problems with recruiting sufficient GPs; believes that interim locum solutions in staffing GP surgeries are not long-term solutions to a problem that has been highlighted to the Scottish Government on many occasions in the Parliament since the SNP administration took office, and considers that this identifies a clear lack of long-term strategy and vision over workforce planning of GP services across Scotland.