Three Capital GP practices set to be put out to tender

Move sparks fears about the future level of service for patients

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Three Edinburgh GP practices currently managed directly by the NHS are set to be put out to tender, sparking fears about the future level of service for patients.

Braefoot Medical Practice near Cameron Toll and Links Medical Centre and Mill Lane Surgery, both in Leith, are among eight practices in the Capital directly run by the NHS's Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership (EHSCP) rather than by GP partners.

The formal process to put the contracts for the three practices out to tender has not yet started, but it is understood it is intended to begin within the next few weeks.

There is concern that the most likely outcome is the practices will be taken over by consortia, which typically operate multiple medical practices across the country.

Critics say consortia then often seek to cut costs by reducing the number of appointments, replacing doctors with advanced nurse practitioners and using paramedics for house calls.

One Edinburgh doctor said: "General practice is already in crisis, but if people think GP services are bad at the moment, they're going to be a lot worse when they're taken over by people who want to run it as a business.