GP surgeries will close for eight days at Christmas

Published on Sunday 30 November 2008 19:58

SURGERIES will be closed for eight days over the Christmas period in Scotland because NHS bosses thought that negotiating with GPs to open longer would lead to unnecessary confusion.

Announcing their preparations for the winter period, NHS chiefs said people would have to rely on NHS 24 for around half the Christmas period.

The closures come despite criticism last year of GPs refusing to provide full cover across the Christmas period.

John Turner, the chief executive of NHS 24, said the organisation was "fully prepared" for the winter period. But he admitted they expected to receive more than 136,000 calls over the 21-day festive period from 15 December and 4 January – up 15 per cent on the previous year.

Dr Malcolm McWhirter, a senior medical officer for the Scottish Government, pointed out there are 50,000 more deaths in the winter months a year than the summer months.