Dumfries and Galloway MP Alister Jack has welcomed the launch of a campaign by his party calling on the Scottish Government to address the recruitment and retention crisis in Scotland’s NHS, and prioritise GP funding.
New data obtained from the General Medical Council revealed that as many as 3,000 Scottish trained doctors are estimated to have left the country to work abroad since 2008.
The Scottish Conservatives have described this as a “brain drain” and have called on the Scottish Government to act on these figures and do more to encourage doctors to come back – or not leave in the first place.
Official NHS figures also show that nearly a third of this year’s GP training places remain unfilled – leaving Scotland with the highest vacancy rates in Britain.
As part of their campaign, the party will this week be writing to every GP clinic in Scotland, and Mr Jack hopes that all practices in Dumfries and Galloway take the opportunity to respond.
Mr Jack said “People in my constituency are all too aware of the crisis engulfing our health service, particularly GP services.
“We have already witnessed ward closures and the temporary downgrading of the Accident and Emergency service at the Galloway Community Hospital, and this weekend the Galloway Community Hospital Action Group are holding a rally in Stranraer in support of our rural health services.
“The time for dealing with this problem is well overdue and it is imperative that the Scottish Government act to deal with the recruitment and retention crisis across our health service, and do everything possible to encourage more GPs to come and work in Dumfries and Galloway.”
