December 1st 2023

By Ailsa Colquhoun

Scottish GPs vote on fully salaried GP service

Rural LMCs also call for contract 'flex'

Scottish GPs will today (December 1) vote on a move to a fully salaried GP service.

During the Scottish local medical committee conference being held yesterday and today in Clydebank, GPs will voice dissatisfaction with the GP contract. Among those, Lothian LMC  will propose:

That this conference recognises the failure of the 2018 GP contract and … believes the independent contractor model is no longer fit for purpose [and] calls for SGPC to enter into negotiation to move to a fully salaried GP service, with equivalent terms and conditions to our consultant colleagues.

Rural issues will also be raised at the conference:

Among the motions from Highland LMC:

• That this conference recognises that additional service costs occur when delivering services to remote and rural areas, that current funding mechanisms fail to adequately compensate for this and demands that SGPC negotiators raise this with Scottish Government and seek to rectify this or mitigate for it.
• That this conference notes gaps in the multidisciplinary team that arise through unfilled posts or uncovered leave… and for robust mechanisms for practices to be supported in these circumstances.
• That this conference recognises the unique challenges of the GMS contract that are particularly amplified in remote and rural areas and … asks SGPC and Scottish Government to work towards delivering solutions that can flex for areas which have sparse populations and workforce gaps.

In terms of the contract motion, the DDA understands that there is precedent for dispensing in salaried (health board run) practices. However, it is not known how efficient this business model can be.

Update (Dec 4): The motion was defeated.