RCGP Scotland response to the General Practice Workforce Survey

Commenting on the publication of the workforce update from NHS Education for Scotland, RCGP Scotland Chair Dr Chris Provan said:

"The data released today unfortunately indicates a failure to stabilise the GP workforce. On the frontline in GP practices, it means challenging workload levels all year round, but particularly during winter. Action is needed now to ensure we have sufficient GPs to service our patients’ needs. 

"The new statistics show the number of whole-time equivalent GPs decreasing for a third consecutive year, and a decrease of 6% since 2013. More GP sessions have also been lost to sickness absence. This comes as the number of practices continues to shrink and number of patients registered with GPs continues to rise. These results show how unsustainable the current pressures are. Research shows that the workload of a GP working less than full time equates to more than what is usually full-time hours.

"We know the Scottish Government is not on target to meet its commitment to recruit 800 new GPs by 2027, as evidenced by the publication of these figures. 

"However, we welcomed the Scottish Government's new Recruitment and Retention Action Plan for 2024-26, and its commitment to examining the optimal shape of the future GP workforce, taking into account evidence about population health, projected burden of disease, and the crucial role of GPs in supporting care closer to home. Decisive action to reverse these worrying workforce trends can’t come soon enough.

"As Chair of RCGP Scotland, I intend to hold the Scottish Government to account to ensure that it delivers its new commitments, and we begin to grow our GP workforce again and strengthen the service we provide our patients.”

Further information

Media requests to Marcus Carslaw, Policy and Public Relations Officer RCGP Scotland, Tel: 07808 795493 / marcus.carslaw@rcgp.org.uk 

Notes to editors

RCGP Scotland represents a network of around 5,000 doctors in Scotland aiming to improve care for patients. We work to encourage and maintain the highest standard of general medical practice and act as the voice of GPs on resources, education, training, research, and clinical standards.

1. GP whole time equivalent (WTE) (excluding Specialist Trainees) continued to decrease, from 3,478.4 in 2023 to 3,453.1 WTE in 2024, a decrease of 0.7%.
2. The number of GP sessions lost to sickness absence was around 5,500 (15%) higher than in 2022/23. The number of hours lost to sickness for non-doctor staff was around 50,000 (11%) higher than in 2022/23.
3. The number of practices in Scotland decreased by 9% from 997 to 911 practices since 2012, reflecting a trend towards fewer practices overall and instead having larger practices.
4. The number of patient registrations in Scotland increased by 2.1% over the past two years.
5. Visit the official workforce statistics to view all of the data relating to workforce and patient registration.