John Swinney accused of 'pathetic con' over major SNP pledge on GP appointments

The First Minister used his Programme for Government to announce 100,000 extra appointments at GP surgeries will take place by March 2026 - just weeks before voters choose the next Scottish Government.

The extra appointments will be provided through those with cardiovascular markers such as high blood pressure or obesity being pro-actively contacted, meaning at least 100,000 fewer patients will be forced to phone at 8am for an appointment and be seen before conditions escalate.

But Mr Swinney has received criticism from the British Medical Association (BMA) for the strategy. The body representing doctors has warned the extra capacity was “a drop in the ocean” compared to the 650,000 GP appointments every week in Scotland.

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Dr Iain Morrison, the chair of BMA Scotland’s GP committee, said “the “rhetoric on this is failing to match the reality” from the Scottish Government.

Speaking at First Minister's Questions on Thursday, Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay pointed to the latest data from Public Health Scotland that showed 500,000 fewer GP appointments took place than in the year before Mr Swinney became First Minister.

He said: “The SNP’s Programme for Government is a pathetic con. Is the limit to John Swinney’s ambition to undo a small amount of the damage inflicted by John Swinney?

“After 18 years of failure, John Swinney is now desperately trying to clear up the mess that his Government has made.”

Mr Findlay added: “The way to increase appointments is to increase the number of GPs. The SNP promised 800 more, but that hasn’t happened.

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“They constantly make big pledges about the NHS, but always fail patients.”

The First Minister stressed “the number of GPs has increased”, adding that “in 2017 there were 4,904 GPs, there’s now 5,211 on the latest statistics”.

He said: “The Government is putting in place arrangements on the 100,00 appointments as a consequence of negotiating that agreement with the same organisations that Mr Findlay has referred to.

“We are absolutely focused on delivering on the issues of concern to the people of Scotland. Part of that is about improving access to the National Health Service.”

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Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar accused SNP ministers of having “no plan, are out of steam and have lost their way”, adding there was “no plan to fix the SNP-created crisis in our NHS”.

He said: “Now we agree that we need to end the 8am rush for a GP appointment – but John Swinney’s plan amounts to one extra appointment per GP every fortnight.

“Today Scottish Labour can reveal shocking new figures that show ambulances are being left queuing up outside hospitals for hours on end, turning car parks into makeshift A&E wards across Scotland.

“At Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, one ambulance was stuck outside for over 15 hours. In Ayr, another waited nearly 15 hours. In Elgin, 12 hours.

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“Car parks turned into A&E wards, corridor care a normality, 800,000 stuck on waiting lists and record numbers of Scots forced to go private.”

In response, Mr Swinney acknowledged there were “significant challenges” facing NHS hospitals.

He said: "We've set out that our investment in the NHS will be focused on addressing the priorities of the people. It will be about reducing waiting times, improving access to GP services and the Government will deliver on those commitments.”