A petition calling on NHS Fife and the Scottish Government to take action to address the shortages of GPs and qualified medical staff in Fife is building support as Fife MSP Alex Rowley has warned things will ‘get worse’ unless action is taken.
Mr Rowley said:
“Across Fife medical practices are finding it difficult to recruit GPs and qualified medical staff resulting in practices closing their books and asking patients out with the catchment areas to find another practice”.
NHS Fife has said that practices in Rosyth and Inverkeithing are struggling to recruit and have acknowledges others are closing their lists and asking patients out with the catchment areas to find new practices.
In Lochgelly this week members of the public were signing the petition and talking about their own experiences as well as the pressure that is being put on staff in the medical centre as a result of being two GPs short. A notice posted in the surgery asked the public for their patience while they attempt to recruit GPs and pointed out that there are days when only one GP will be working to cover 3600 patients.
Practices also facing major recruitment issues are in Glenrothes, Methil, Kirkcaldy and Ladybank.
Mr Rowley described the situation as very concerning and said that the situation across Fife is getting more difficult. He said; “There has been a complete failure of government to carry out workforce planning and if you look at the age profile of GPs this is a situation that is only going to get worse unless some kind of action is taken to support more people into the medical profession.
He continued:
“There is no point of the Scottish Government continuing to make excuses, we need action and I am asking both the government and NHS Fife to explain what it is they are doing to address this growing problem. I have launched this petition as I think the more people who will speak up on this issue and demand action the more likely we are to get the NHS Board and the Government to focus on finding solutions.
Claire Baker MSP is calling for action and said:
‘GP shortages are creating significant pressures on patients and practices across Kirkcaldy. For too long, people have struggled to get appointments when they need them and get the care and support they need. Too many practices in Kirkcaldy have to close lists because they cannot recruit GPS. This is the responsibility of the SNP Government and their failure to properly plan for a GP workforce is letting down the people of Kirkcaldy.’
Fife Council co-leader David Ross also joined campaigners in Kirkcaldy and said:
“I really worry for the future if we do not take the steps necessary to address the issues. We have practices closing their lists, practices closing and many practices paying a fortune to bring in locums and now practices are reporting it more and more difficult to get locums whilst NHS Fife acknowledging high risks for practices across Fife as a result of recruitment difficulties”.
Mr Rowley has written to the Cabinet Secretary for Health seeking a meeting to discuss what is being done to address the ‘growing crisis’ in recruiting GPs in Fife.
