The new Scottish Secretary has refused to intervene on the escalating North East GP crisis.
West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine MP Andrew Bowie urged Labour’s Ian Murray to consider “significant concerns” among Scotland’s GPs about increased employer National Insurance contributions.
Among the tax increases in Labour’s first Budget, employers will see an increase in contributions on their workers’ earnings which will raise up to £25bn a year for the government.
The NHS is exempt from the increase, but GP practices are not because they are classed as independent contractors.
The British Medical Association (BMA) said the hike represents an “existential threat” to NHS General Practice.
In the Scottish budget, the SNP claimed the £300 million from Barnett consequentials is still £200m short of what’s needed to protect practices. As described in a Scottish Parliament answer to North East MSP Tess White at the end of last month, cabinet secretary Neil Gray said the cost comes to more than £700 million when “factoring in GPs, social care providers, pharmacists and a range of others.”
Mr Bowie said forcing GP practices to pay more towards the state will further harm their working conditions and ability to see patients.
He said GPs “need support — not a tax hike” and called on the Labour UK Government to reverse the tax hike.
And the Scottish Conservative MP pointed to alarming analysis from the Royal College of General Practitioners, which found 77% of GPs report excessive workloads are harming patient safety.
Mr Bowie said: “GPs are on the frontline, providing essential healthcare up and down our country.
“The work they do is immensely valuable. Especially in rural Scotland, where they serve as a much-needed lifeline for communities.
“As it is, too many are struggling, and this misguided policy will only heighten the pressure that they are under.”
Mr Murray’s response was based on political attack points about a “£22 billion black hole” in public finances and did not address the concerns within.
GP surgeries in rural Scotland are closing at more than twice the rate of those in many central belt health boards.
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Mr Bowie said: “We are looking at even more GP practices closing or handing their contracts back to NHS Grampian if this policy isn’t reversed.
“Rather than address local concerns directly, for the benefit of patients in Scotland, the Secretary of State has signed off this heartless, cookie-cutter response.”
