Scotland’s NHS cannot afford a costly white elephant - Scotsman leader

John Swinney has just announced a big rollout of GP walk-in clinics – which allow people to see a GP or nurse without an appointment – with a total of 40 now planned.

It sounds like a great idea with primary healthcare under such pressure across Scotland. Relieve strain here and you go a long way to solving many of the other problems in the NHS. Or that is the theory.

The problem is that not everyone is convinced by the centres, the 11th of which opened in Buckhaven, Fife, yesterday.

The British Medical Association Scotland, indeed, has branded them a “political stunt”, claiming “GPs are angry about this waste of public funds”.

The Scottish Liberal Democrats, meanwhile, have called for the rollout of the scheme to be paused, noting that official figures showed the centre in Dundee was visited by just four patients on one day in July, while centres in Benbecula, Hawick, Dunoon and Lerwick all had days last month where they saw less than 10 patients.

For his part, Mr Swinney insists that “it will take time for public uptake and involvement in these services to build up”.

That may be the case, and we may yet see these clinics being a fantastic success.

But we would urge the government to ensure it is not dismissing the concerns of those who know best – the doctors working on the frontline.

We absolutely welcome any move to relieve the pressure on GPs, and in turn on A&E departments. And solving the constant frustration of trying to get a GP appointment or joining the 8am rush in many parts of Scotland should be a priority.

A version of the walk-in centres may yet prove to be the solution. But before pouring even more public money into this scheme, we must be certain it is a model which is delivering what is required in the most efficient way.

Scotland’s NHS cannot afford a costly white elephant. To avoid that, ministers need to listen to the concerns of the experts, and ensure they act.