Chamber and committees

Information regarding GP retirals is not published by Information Services Division Scotland or recorded by NHS boards in a standardised way. NHS Grampian is however actively assisting local GP practices to recruit qualified GPs to replace those who are retiring and are undertaking a number of actions to facilitate improved recruitment. This includes a "career start" scheme which gives newly qualified GPs the chance to work for one to two years in a practice which continues to provide mentoring and training beyond the mandatory three year training scheme, as well as developing a number of opportunities for GPs to develop their careers through a programme of training GPs with special interests. NHS Grampian is also working to deliver more sustainable services by training advanced nurse practitioners, physicians, assistants and pharmacists to assist GPs in managing the clinical workload in practices.

Whilst the number of GP’s in NHS Grampian has increased by 9.6% between September 2006 and September 2015, in comparison with the 7.4% Scotland wide increase, the Scottish Government is fully aware that there are ongoing challenges around recruiting and retaining GPs. We are undertaking a number of initiatives that aim to make general practice a more attractive career option; this includes ways to support reducing work load; making returning to GP practice easier; a redesign of how community services are delivered; testing mentor support models and considering how we might improve undergraduate medical teaching to provide increased exposure to working experiences and learning opportunities within primary care.