Exclusive:GPs urge next Scottish government to take drastic action on poverty
The Royal College of General Practitioners called for a frontline funding boost
GPs have urged the next Scottish government to take drastic action to reduce the impact of poverty on patients.
A survey by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) Scotland found more than half of its members are seeing an increase in health problems either caused or exacerbated by poverty.
It is calling for increased investment in GP services, ensuring at least 11 per cent of the health budget goes to general practice, with a longer‑term ambition to raise this to 15 per cent.
Opposition politicians accused SNP ministers of presiding over a growing workforce crisis in Scotland’s NHS.
RCGP Scotland's annual membership survey showed 55 per cent of GP respondents reported increasing numbers of patient presentations that could either be linked to or worsened by poverty.
A total of 12 per cent reported a significant increase in those presentations, and zero reported seeing a decrease.
Since the 1950s, Scotland has had the lowest life expectancy of all UK nations and in recent decades the country's position has worsened relative to other western European nations.
RCGP Scotland's manifesto for the 2026 Holyrood election calls on the next Scottish Parliament to ensure that resources are targeted to patients in deprived communities.
Dr Chris Provan, chair of RCGP Scotland, said: "Health inequalities remain one of the defining challenges in Scotland’s health landscape and have continued to worsen in recent years.
“Healthy life expectancy is falling, and for people living in our most deprived communities, it is now a quarter of a century shorter than for those in the least deprived areas.
“With figures like these, it is unsurprising that more than half of our GP members report an increase in health problems that are either caused or exacerbated by poverty.
"In my daily practice, I see first hand how poverty affects health - patients develop chronic conditions earlier, struggle to afford nutritious food or heat their homes, and all too often die prematurely.
"This should never be accepted as inevitable. No one should become ill faster because of where they were born or because of poverty.”
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He added: "We know that countries with strong primary care systems - built around general practice - deliver better outcomes for patients and help to reduce health inequalities.
“That is why we are calling on the next Scottish government to increase investment in GP services, ensuring at least 11 per cent of the health budget goes to general practice, with a longer‑term ambition to raise this to 15 per cent.
"This additional investment would allow for the recruitment of more staff in socio‑economically deprived areas, giving GPs more time with patients and enabling them to provide more preventive care.
“Practices in deprived communities already struggle with recruitment and staff retention challenges due to high workloads and intense pressures.
"New funding must also be delivered in line with the principles of proportionate universalism, ensuring support is targeted where it is needed most. This approach would maximise the impact of new investment, helping reduce health inequalities and ultimately increasing the number of years people in Scotland spend in good health.
"The next Scottish Parliament term must be the one to break the trend of worsening health inequalities."
RCGP Scotland's annual membership survey was carried out between July 28 and August 20 last year. It received 285 responses from GPs across Scotland.
Scottish Labour health spokesperson Jackie Baillie said: “Scottish Labour believe that general practice is a crucial element of the NHS, delivering services in the community and reducing pressure on acute and emergency services.
“The SNP have presided over a growing workforce crisis in Scotland’s NHS, including in general practice and primary care. Meanwhile, increasing workloads have led to many GPs being put at risk of burn-out.
“It is shameful that Scotland has had the lowest life expectancy of all UK nations, particularly impacting those in the most deprived communities. We must take robust action to tackle this issue, and the underlying factors which contribute to health inequalities.”
Scottish Conservative health spokesperson Sandesh Gulhane said: “John Swinney claimed that tackling poverty was his top priority – but the evidence shows he’s failing miserably.
“People’s lives are being cut short and inequality is still plaguing our communities. It’s shameful that a person’s postcode still determines life expectancy.”
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said 19 years of “SNP failure” had directly harmed some of the most vulnerable Scots.
SNP MSP Clare Haughey said: “Eradicating child poverty is John Swinney’s number one mission and thanks to action taken by his SNP government, Scotland has the lowest levels of child poverty on these islands.
“While there is still work to be done, tackling child poverty head-on will see improvements in health inequalities – the unique Scottish Child Payment, our transformational childcare offer, protection of free prescriptions and the best cost of living support package in the UK are all part of making that happen.
“It also means backing our GPs - in Scotland we have the highest number of GPs per head in the UK and our new walk-in centres will make services more accessible.
“In government, the SNP reached a historic deal with GPs that will see record investment of £531m over the next three years to recruit more GPs and provide additional investment to tackle health inequalities.
"Our focus on early intervention has at its heart our 10-year population health framework, which is a redoubling of our efforts to tackle health inequalities and was shaped directly by GPs themselves.”
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