Further £2.65m to extend GP surgery hours

Published on Wednesday 25 June 2008 23:23

FAMILY doctors were yesterday handed an extra £2.65 million in the Scottish Government's latest efforts to encourage more to open their surgeries in the evenings and at weekends.

GPs have been reluctant to extend hours, with many prepared to lose money rather than provide the extra appointments.

Shona Robison, the public health minister, yesterday announced that 2.65 million would be made available to GP practices to fund nursing cover during the extended hours' period.

But doctors' leaders said the move would simply further fuel GPs' anger, with the belief that the extra funding for extended hours was not a good use of scarce resources.

Speaking at the NHS Scotland conference in Glasgow, Ms Robison said the extra money would enhance the service being offered by some GPs. "Patients have told us that they need more flexibility in accessing GP appointments and we are working with GPs to deliver that," she said.

"We know that GPs don't work in isolation and nurses are a critical part of the care that practices provide."

Ms Robison said around 45 per cent of GPs in Scotland had registered to provide extended hours or had shown an interest in providing the service. She said that more might still sign up before the deadline of 1 July.

Figures last month suggested that just 16 per cent of Scotland's 1,000 GP practices had committed to providing extended hours, while others had expressed an initial interest.