Dave Thompson MSP

Dave Thompson MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch used General Questions in the Scottish Parliament on Thursday (05/06/2014) to ask the Scottish Government whether it would provide an update on the progress of the models for GP practices in rural areas.

Of particular importance to Mr Thompson have been the concerns of his constituents in west Lochaber that there has been an expensive reliance on the use of locums in the area, rather than the more cost effective use of full time GPs.

In response, The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing (Alex Neil) referred to a new bespoke model for rural areas that is under way and expected to be in place by this summer.

Dave followed this up with a question seeking clarification on what the Scottish Government is doing to remedy the situation by asking the Cabinet Secretary for some more clarity on just what he meant by a “bespoke model” for rural areas.

Dave’s full question is noted below:

“The cabinet secretary will be aware that my constituents in west Lochaber area are concerned about the situation. The model that NHS Highland is driving and which he supports is good, but we must overcome the difficulty in attracting GPs to posts. In the meantime, we are spending an awful lot of money on locum GPs, who are costing the health board a fortune. Will he elaborate a wee bit on the bespoke model that he mentioned?

The Cabinet Secretary said a major recruitment campaign would be launched in the next few weeks to recruit the additional GPs who are needed to staff the new model.

He also alluded to an expected collaborative approach with NHS Highland to try and overcome the problems, such as making use of telehealth more extensively in west Lochaber and other rural areas.

Dave later commented,

“I am pleased that the Cabinet Secretary recognises the legitimate concerns of my constituents in west Lochaber I and I look forward to seeing just how the new recruitment drive and use of telehealth services pans out over the summer

He concluded,

“However, as encouraging as this may be, it is an issue that I think should be re-visited at a later date so we can be updated on the model’s progress”.

Notes:

Dave’s full question, the Cabinet Secretary’s response and Dave’s supplementary is contained below:

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the progress of the models for GP practices in rural areas. (S4O-03319)

The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing (Alex Neil): The Scottish Government continues to promote a range of initiatives to recruit and support GPs working in remote and rural areas, including work that NHS Highland is leading to develop and test innovative ways of delivering healthcare in rural areas.

Progress has been slower than planned because of on-going difficulties in recruiting GPs to vacant posts. To address those difficulties, a bespoke recruitment exercise is under development and is expected to be in place by the summer.

I assure the Parliament that the Scottish Government recognises the current challenges in remote and rural healthcare delivery and is committed to ensuring that all communities in Scotland have access to high-quality and sustainable healthcare services.

Dave Thompson: The cabinet secretary will be aware that my constituents in the west Lochaber area are concerned about the situation. The model that NHS Highland is driving and which he supports is good, but we must overcome the difficulty in attracting GPs to posts. In the meantime, we are spending an awful lot of money on locum GPs, who are costing the health board a fortune. Will he elaborate a wee bit on the bespoke model that he mentioned?

Alex Neil: I am pleased that one new GP has been appointed. A major recruitment campaign will be launched in the next few weeks, with the support of a marketing expert, to recruit the additional GPs who are needed to staff the model. Of course, the original proposal for the model came from local GPs. In the meantime, we have been fortunate to have some consistent locums who have provided continuity of care. Dr Gartshore is providing clinical leadership for the locums.

Along with NHS Highland, we are happy to look at any additional work that we can do, such as using telehealth more extensively, to try to overcome the problems in west Lochaber and other remote and rural areas across Scotland.

The full report can be found on the Scottish Parliament website at the following link:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28862.aspx?r=9228&mode=html#iob_83209