Mid Scotland and Fife MSP Alex Rowley has raised concerns about the number of GPs in Fife. Currently there are 19 fewer GPs working a full week in Fife than there were eight years ago, at the same time as rising demand on the service.
Commenting on the latest figures showing that more than a third of Fife surgeries do not have enough GP’s, Mr Rowley said:
“This is a worrying position that we find ourselves in not being able to recruit GPs whilst the population in Fife continues to grow, as does demand on our health services.
“NHS Fife need to set out what they are doing to try and recruit GPs into Fife as well as demonstrating that they have an understanding of future need.
“At a time when there are applications to build thousands of new homes, NHS Fife really need to get a grip on what services are going to be needed and how they are to be provided.
“We are stoking up big problems for the future whilst the local authorities along with the Scottish Government seem to be oblivious to the need to address this issue through longer term workforce planning”.
Primary Care Workforce Survey figures from http://www.isdscotland.org/
