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A quarter of Scottish primary care doctors are planning to leave their GP practices in the next two years, while three quarters say the last year has made them more likely to leave the profession entirely.
The figures come from a recent BMA Scotland GP wellbeing survey, which found that just 5% of doctors who responded believe their practice is in a long-term sustainable position, with 60% indicating they fear for the future of their practice should they lose a GP.
More than 850 GPs responded to the survey and of these, nearly one in three said their practice is already in a precarious position with 43% of them saying there is no realistic chance in the near future of their practice being able to meet patient demand for access.
Other results from the survey found that 28% of GPs believe their workload is unmanageable and 85% said they sometimes, or regularly, struggle to cope and work is having a negative impact on their physical and mental wellbeing.
GP practices not sustainable in the long-term
BMA Scotland GP chair Dr Andrew Buist said: “These statistics show once again just how precarious the position is for practices and GPs themselves across Scotland. It is a very bleak situation, and already many GPs fear the practices they work in are simply not sustainable in the long-term – leading, of course, to further worry for patients about accessing care, and continuity of care.
“Already, 43% of GPs say their practice can’t meet demand and there is no chance of them doing so in the near future – unmanageable workloads and deteriorating work-life balance is no doubt pushing many out of the door and so I fear that figure could increase. All of this suggests a position that is likely to get much worse, with practices collapsing, handing back contracts and patient care suffering as a result.
“Without urgent action, we will see parts of Scotland become seriously under-doctored as many patients will struggle even more than they are right now to get appointments. This will lead to deteriorating continuity of care, something patients greatly value, and the potential for the breakdown of primary care in those areas.”