Exclusive:Concern as almost all retiring GPs have left the profession early since 2015

Concerns have been raised about “unmanageable” workloads of family doctors in Scotland after it emerged that 97 per cent of retiring GPs have left the profession early since 2015.

The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) warned doctors are reducing their hours, taking early retirement or leaving the profession altogether because of the “intense pressures” they are under.

Figures uncovered by the Scottish Liberal Democrats show that of the 2,529 GPs who have retired since 2015, 97 per cent did so before their state retirement age.

GPs are under 'intense' pressure, it has been warned | PA

Party leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “Weighed down by constant workload pressures, GPs have very little incentive to stay on in the profession.

“When almost all of retiring GPs are leaving early, staff shortages build up in the system, making it harder for patients to get the appointments and care they desperately need.

“After 19 years, the SNP cannot be trusted to help staff or patients. This is a party that hired less than one in 10 of the GPs they promised in 2017.”

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Mr Cole-Hamilton said the Lib Dems would embed 900 new multidisciplinary patient-facing staff in practices and neighbourhood health teams, including nurses, physiotherapists, pharmacists and mental health professionals.

The party would also enable pharmacists to do more prescribing and establish a rolling 10-year NHS workforce plan, among other measures, he said.

But Dr Chris Provan, chair of RCGP Scotland, said the expansion of multidisciplinary teams had not eased GP workloads to the extent expected.

He said: "We’re losing too many highly trained and experienced GPs from the front line of patient care early because of the intense pressures of modern general practice. The fact that so many GPs are so stressed and worried about the impact this is having on their patients shows just how precarious the situation has become.

"Since 2013, the number of whole‑time equivalent GPs has fallen by 2.3 per cent, while the number of registered patients has risen by 8.8 per cent over the same period.

“Not only are there more patients, but the care they need has also become more complex as our population ages. This smaller workforce has been expected to absorb a rapidly growing workload, with predictable results: unmanageable pressure and declining wellbeing. This has resulted in more GPs reducing their hours, taking early retirement, or leaving the profession altogether.

"We welcome any initiatives that genuinely free up GPs' time so they can focus on patient care. Evidence shows the expansion of multidisciplinary teams in general practice has not eased GP workloads to the extent expected, as GPs still carry significant responsibility for managing and supervising these team members. Many practices are already struggling to find sufficient space for both clinical and nonclinical teams. Any workforce expansion will need a long-term plan to improve and expand general practice premises.”

He added: "Ultimately, the most effective way to improve patient access and reduce pressure on the system is a substantial expansion of the GP workforce."

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Emma Harper, the SNP candidate for Galloway and West Dumfries, said: “Under the SNP, Scotland has more GPs per head of population than anywhere else in the UK with numbers set to increase further after we made a landmark £531 million investment in core general practice.

“We are now opening GP walk-in clinics all over the country to ensure that people get the right care, in the right place at the right time.

“John Swinney’s plan for the NHS is working – waiting times are down for nine months in a row, thousands more operation numbers and GP numbers up.”