Question reference: S5W-08183
- Asked by: Maree Todd, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 16 March 2017
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Current status: Answered by Shona Robison on 28 March 2017
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to improve recruitment and retention in general practice.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to reinvigorating the core strengths and principles of general practice.
On 10 March , the Scottish Government announced that in 2017-2018 £71.6 million will be invested in direct support of general practice, helping transform the way services are delivered in the community.
The GP Recruitment and Retention Fund will increase five-fold - from £1 million to
£5 million in 2017-18. This investment will enable us to expand and continue to explore with key stakeholders the issues surrounding GP recruitment and retention across Scotland, and which we know can be particularly challenging in remote and rural areas.
This fund is already supporting a range of initiatives including the establishment of a Scottish Rural Medicine Collaborative involving ten NHS boards, bringing together their recruitment strategies and support networks for GPs working in remote and rural areas.