Everyone knows SNP's walk-in GP clinics aren't working but John Swinney keeps ploughing on – Jackie Baillie
The number of medical staff working at GP walk-in centres is pitiful
Last year, John Swinney made the bold promise that a network of GP walk-in centres across Scotland would end the 8am rush for an appointment. They would “break from the status quo” by making it easier to see a GP “where and when it works for you”, he said.
We are a year on from that initial promise. Since then – despite warnings from senior doctors – the First Minister has sought to expand the number of these centres operating in Scotland, with an aim to establish more than 30.
A noble ambition, you might think. Our NHS is struggling and far too many people find it difficult to get an appointment with a GP when they need it. But, beyond the soundbites and press releases from the Scottish Government, there is a whole different reality about these walk-in clinics.
READ MORE: SNP walk-in GP clinics 'completely unaffordable' as experts call for evaluation of pilot project
Not ‘good value for money’
Rather than the success that the SNP would like you to think, official statistics paint a different picture. Public Health Scotland figures show low attendance rates, with just 15,400 cases between the opening of the first centre on February 10 this year and the end of August. That is across ten centres.
Medical experts – including senior bosses at the British Medical Association (BMA) – have said the centres have “not demonstrated good value for money”, as there is “no convincing evidence they reduce pressure on GP practices, out-of-hour services, or emergency departments”.
So, it is clear that the reality on the ground is very different from that which the SNP and John Swinney would like the public to believe. Furthermore, it has now emerged that there are just 6.5 full-time equivalent GPs employed by walk-in clinics across Scotland – with 7.5 nurses and 16.8 admin staff.
They provide a total of just 120 appointments per day in walk-in clinics, compared to 136,000 daily appointments recorded in traditional GP offices. And that is despite the Scottish government having already committed £36 million this year towards expanding walk-in services.
The experts at the BMA have warned that these centres are not demonstrating good value for money, and these figures back that assertion up. It would be advisable for SNP ministers to listen to the experts, rather than stubbornly ploughing ahead and dismissing the concerns being raised.
Empty SNP promises
John Swinney claimed that this network of GP walk-in clinics would ultimately deliver a million more appointments across the country per year. However, it is abundantly clear that we are so far off meeting that target that it is farcical.
And the truth is that patients are struggling right now – they can’t afford to wait for help which is still years down the line. Patients are waiting hours in A&E, with overcrowded hospitals, and ambulances taking far too long to reach those in need of assistance.
We don’t need more empty promises from the SNP – we need action to fix our health service in there here and now.
Jackie Baillie is MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour’s deputy leader and her party’s spokesperson for health
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