Question reference: S6W-15327
- Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 23 February 2023
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Current status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 9 March 2023
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Primary Care Out of Hours Workforce Survey 2022, published by Public Health Scotland on 14 February 2023, which found that most NHS boards have reported decreases in the number of GPs working in out-of-hours services since 2019.
Answer
Despite the system wide pressures, health boards continue to deliver a primary care out of hours service for the provision of urgent care when GP Practices are closed. Although the 2022 OOH workforce survey showed a decrease of around 97 whole time equivalent GP’s working in the service, it should be noted that the data collection was incomplete with not all Health Boards providing full returns so this figure should be approached with caution as it is not directly comparable with data from previous surveys.
It is also important to note the increased number of other professions which reflects that this service is now provided using a multi-disciplinary model which includes nurses, advanced nurse practitioners and paramedics.