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Scottish GPs crisis and whitewash of the vaginal mesh scandal show time’s up for Shona Robison
Record of failure: Scottish Health Secretary Shona Robison

FOLLOWING the scandal of charitable donations being used to bail out crisis-hit health board NHS Tayside, Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard called for the resignation of Shona Robison, Scotland’s beleaguered Health Secretary. Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie then joined the call. 

These calls have sounded as the problems in Scotland’s health and social care system rapidly mount up. 

Across Scotland there is a GP crisis. From Shetland to Dumfries and all stops in between, communities are seeing their local GP practices buckling under the pressure of increased demand, with fewer doctors to cover this growing need.

  • 40 per cent of GP practices across the Lothian region have closed their lists to new patients because of a lack of available doctors.
  • Locum cover is being relied upon to keep the doors open. With cover costing up to £1,400 per day, only 23 per cent of practices were able to find locum cover for planned GP absence and only 9 per cent for unplanned absence. 
  • When vacancies for partners are advertised, there are often zero applicants for posts. We have the highest number of direct health board managed practices since records began, with 52 so-called 2C practices. 
  • Health centre staff are under huge pressure trying to cope with rising demand but with fewer GPs.
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