GPs in Scotland forced to use decades-old IT systems

Holyrood’s public audit committee heard the profession is at ‘crisis point’

GPs in Scotland are using IT systems that are more than two decades old amid an ongoing “crisis” in the profession, it has been warned.

Holyrood’s public audit committee heard recent measures have failed to address workload and capacity issues. MSPs were told the infamous “8am rush” is endemic and cannot be addressed until capacity is increased.

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The committee discussed a recent Audit Scotland report which found the Scottish Government is failing to deliver on its key missions for the sector.

GPs forced to use decades-old IT serversplaceholder image
GPs forced to use decades-old IT servers | PA

Dr Iain Morrison, chair of the general practice committee at the BMA Scotland union, was one of those giving evidence on Wednesday.

He said general practice is at a “crisis point” due to inflation and the erosion of funding, highlighting that potentially hundreds of trained GPs in Scotland are now finding themselves under-employed.

Dr Chris Provan of the Royal College of General Practitioners Scotland agreed, saying: “General practice feels like it’s in a state of perpetual crisis.”

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Dr Morrison also said GP IT systems are of “exceedingly poor quality”, saying: “We’re running on Internet Explorer 8 software, 2004 servers, we have multiple systems trying to speak to legacy systems.

“So it’s very hard for the IT system to have robust data capture that can be reliable and easily interpretable.”

He said Scotland’s GPs have no equivalent to a system called The Spine, which is used in England.

Dr Provan said: “The IT is not fit for purpose, people talk about AI and other activities, which is really really important. But GPs just want a computer that switches on in the morning.”

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Conservative MSP Graham Simpson remarked that systems seem to be in the “dark ages”, as he asked the doctors about the 8am rush phenomenon, where patients ring surgeries as soon as they open in the hope of securing an appointment.

Dr Morrison said: “Until we address capacity then we will always have this 8am rush, because it has become endemic.”

NHS Scotland’s chief executive Caroline Lamb also gave evidence to the committee. She said access to data has been a “long-term endeavour” with known risks.

Factors like the Covid pandemic and UK fiscal constraints have affected the GP service, Ms Lamb said.

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Discussing the Audit Scotland report, she said: “I don’t shy away from the challenges identified in this report but we must now build on what we’ve learned and what we’ve delivered and focus on what comes next to build access, quality and continuity in general practice.”

She accepted that the government has not progressed “as quickly and completely as we might have wanted to do”.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “GPs could not be clearer about the challenges they face. All the SNP have offered them are half-baked wheezes that barely touch the sides.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats would tackle capacity head-on by recruiting more pharmacists, more physiotherapists and more specialists in mental health to work alongside GPs. That’s how we ease their workloads and get more people seen on time.”

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Douglas Lumsden, a Tory MSP for the North East Scotland region, said services in his area are at “breaking point”. His warning came as NHS Grampian announced savings of £23 million last week as part of a recovery plan to reduce its deficit.

Mr Lumsden said: “GP services across North East are at breaking point on the SNP’s watch which has been exacerbated by the UK Labour Government’s National Insurance hikes.

“These cuts announced by NHS Grampian are going to be devastating for communities such as Inverurie, and its patients who are already paying the price for the SNP’s dire workforce planning.

“That is why they must come up with a robust plan that will address the deepening workforce crisis across NHS Grampian, which has left many of our rural areas dangerously short of GPs.”

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A recent BMA Scotland survey found many GPs are struggling to cope with their workload, with some describing it as “unmanageable”.

Nearly half (48.7 per cent) said they were struggling to cope and work was having a negative impact on their physical and mental wellbeing and a quarter (26.2 per cent) described their current workload as unmanageable.

Meanwhile, 44.6 per cent said the future of their practice was precarious or not sustainable, up 10 per cent since 2023.

BMA Scotland ran a snap survey of GPs in Scotland from May 6 to 21, receiving 1,670 responses, with 38 per cent of GP partners in Scotland taking part.

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