A senior Fife councillor has called on the Scottish Government to tackle what he called Scotland’s looming GP crisis.
More than a third of Fife’s GPs say their workload is unmanageable and 42% said they would not choose to be a GP again if given the choice.
The staggering revelations came in replies to a survey sent by the Liberal Democrats and analysed in the paper, The Crisis in Scottish Primary Healthcare (PDF link).
Among the responses of 389 GPs, were those of 38 in Fife.
Councillor Tim Brett, leader of Fife Council’s Liberal Democrats, said the results were damning.
“More than one in three local doctors who responded to the survey said their workload was unmanageable,” he said.
“Sixty per cent would prefer to abolish the Quality Outcomes Framework of the contract and two-thirds of the remainder want it reduced.
“Forty-two per cent of respondents stated that they would not choose to be a GP again if given the choice.”
He added: “This report highlights the real pressure faced by local doctors here in Fife.
“It is to be regretted that the Scottish Government was unaware of the looming crisis in primary care and appears to continue to deny the existence of any crisis.”
Mr Brett, a former chief executive of NHS Tayside, said the Scottish Liberal Democrats support the Royal College of GPs’ plan for change.
“It addresses funding, infrastructure, IT, the GP contract, recruitment and integrated care,” he said.
“All of these are measures which must be considered by government immediately and urgently if we are to alleviate pressure on doctors in Fife.”
Of the 38 GPs who replied to the survey in Fife, 14 said their workload was unmanageable, 23 backed the abolition of the Quality and Outcomes Framework and 13 were unaware of the Scottish Government’s primary care plan.
Of the 25 respondents aware of the plan, 17, said it was not sufficient to address the challenges. Sixteen respondents said they would not choose to become a GP again if given the choice.
The report was issued as another set of figures suggested nearly half of all junior doctors who train in Scotland leave the country or profession within five years of qualifying.