SNP must heed warning to save GPs and NHS' future

SNP Ministers have been told they “must heed this stark warning” after GPs warned that a massive funding gap must be urgently plugged in order to save the service and the future of the NHS.

- By Craig Meighan

BMA Scotland said 17 years of “eroded” funding now means there is a GP funding shortfall of 22.8%.

The trade union said ministers must inject £290 million into GP services in order to deliver “full funding restoration”.

Disease

It said the funding gap, which it said had grown worse as inflation outstrips cash from the Government, is having a “huge impact” on the ability to provide patients with the treatment they need.

The BMA said this came at a time when the nation’s population continues to rise, along with a higher prevalence of disease and more treatment options.

Dr Iain Morrison, chair of the BMA's Scottish General Practitioners Committee, said: “The funding we receive for every patient we care for has been eroded year after year against inflation since 2008.

“In all, eroded funding streams and new cost pressures have created