GPS ‘AT BREAKING POINT’ ON SNP’S WATCH AS PATIENT LISTS RISE BY 1,200 IN OVER A DECADE

By Lucy Ashton

The SNP must urgently invest in primary care to ease the pressure GP services are under as a result of unsustainable patient lists, Scottish Labour has warned. 

The number of practices fell by 11 percent between 2013 and 2025, according to analysis by Scottish Labour, while over the same decade the number of patients rose by 8 percent.

As a result, the average practice list size rose by 21 percent, with each practice now dealing with 1,200 more patients.

In South Lanarkshire alone,  average practice lists soared by 25 per cent – the equivalent to more than 1,500 extra patients per practice.

While GPs are forced to deal with increasing numbers of patients, their funding has been cut. 

According to the British Medical Association Scotland, GPs have seen their share of the NHS budget fall from 11 per cent to 6.2 per cent since 2008 and claim in real terms, because of inflation, this amounts to a 22.8 per cent cut.

In April, Scotland’s doctors’ union put the SNP government on notice that GPs would begin a formal dispute this summer unless the unbearable pressure was reduced.

Meanwhile, the SNP has failed to deliver on its promise to hire 800 more GPs by 2027 along with other pledges made in the 2018 contract to empower GPs to focus on clinical care.

Scottish Labour’s Health Spokesperson Jackie Baillie said: “The hundreds of GP practices that vanished in a decade should be a wake-up call — primary care is at breaking point on the SNP’s watch. 

“The SNP must listen to GPs and deliver on its broken promises before it’s too late.

“Scottish Labour will restore the family doctor, invest in primary care and ensure patients can be seen in 48 hours so they get the care they need.” 

Change in the number of patients per practice, Scotland

 Source: General Practice – GP practice list sizes 2013 to 2023; General practice list size and demographics information – April 2025