Leader comment: Not spending on GPs is false economy

In most instances and for the vast majority of us, our first health call is always to our GP. If there was no GP to call on, what would we do? Phone NHS 24, and if they are concerned that there is something wrong they might suggest going to a hospital, or in extreme cases they might phone an ambulance to come and take you to a hospital. It is hard to picture the NHS without having a GP to call on.

But now the Royal College of General Practitioners is warning that Scotland could be short of more than 800 GPs in just four years. They say the UK could have a shortfall of almost 10,000 GPs by 2020 amd that could leave 594 GP surgeries at risk of closure.

One instant consequence of GP surgeries closing is a likely greater impact on other parts of the NHS.

According to Dr Miles Mack, chair of RCGP Scotland, 90% of patient contact with the health service comes through the primary care provided by GPs.

The NHS in England has produced a plan which aims to recruit 5,000 family doctors and an additional 5,000 other members of staff for surgeries but Scotland’s plans seem less ambitious.

Funding for the health service is such a thorny issue, because - in broad terms - the more that is spent the healthier we are, and the longer we live the more health care we need, and that increases the costs. Where you stop spending is an extremely difficult problem. But the question here is about where within the NHS is the best place to spend money, and it stands to reason that not spending on primary care will simply lead to greater pressure on less appropriate services, which would be less cost-effective.