Primary care services

General Practice

• 2018 Scottish General Medical Services (GMS) Contract
• 2018 GMS Contract phase two
• GP recruitment and retention
• primary care multidisciplinary teams and the Primary Care Phased Investment Programme
• general practice nursing
• general practice management
• addressing health inequalities
• GP premises
• contact

The 2018 Scottish General Medical Services (GMS) Contract

The 2018 GMS Contract is a joint agreement between the Scottish Government and the Scottish General Practitioners Committee (SGPC) of the British Medical Association.

Its key aims are to:

• refocus the role of General Practitioner (GP) as expert medical generalist enabling GPs to do the job they trained to do
• deliver better care for patients, and to place general practice at the heart of the healthcare system
• establish multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) of different healthcare professionals who come together to provide a range of services in communities for those people in need of care

The Scottish Government, the SGPC, Health and Social Care Integration Authorities and NHS Health Boards together agreed a ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ (MoU). This sets out the principles, guidance and roles and responsibilities of each party for this service redesign. The MoU was subsequently updated in 2021 (“MoU2”) following the  Joint Letter - GMS Contract Update for 2021/22 and Beyond between Scottish Government and the SGPC.

The 2018 GMS Contract phase two

The 2018 GMS Contract proposed that reform of funding for general practice would be delivered in two phases. Phase one pay and expenses commitments were delivered with the introduction of a new funding formula (the Scottish Workload Formula) in 2018. A minimum earnings expectation for general practitioners was introduced in 2019.

Phase two will:

• introduce an agreed income range with pay progression for GPs comparable to consultants
• directly reimburse practice expenses

GP recruitment and retention

GPs are essential to the delivery of high quality, sustainable general practice services. We are committed to increase the number of GPs by 800 by 2027.

In November 2024 we published a set of measures to deliver on this commitment, which are set out in our General Practitioner recruitment and retention action plan 2024 to 2026. Progress against this plan will be reviewed annually. We will continue to work with NHS Education for Scotland to improve the data available on the GP workforce. 

GP retention working group 

The Scottish Government’s GP retention working group met in late 2023. The group consisted of key representatives from across the profession including the Royal College of General Practitioners (Scotland) and the British Medical Association. It produced the report: Improving GP Retention – Recommendations from the GP Retention Working Group.

GP jobs and vacancies

GP vacancies are advertised through GP Jobs. This website also provides information on fellowships, coaching, training and other career development opportunities for GPs

Employing GPs who require a skilled worker visa

GPs who do not have an indefinite right to remain in the UK will require a skilled worker visa to work in Scotland. Practices who employ GPs who require this visa need to become an accredited sponsor. The guidance on becoming a skilled worker visa sponsor provides step-by-step information on to completing the forms required by the UK Government. 

Primary care multidisciplinary teams and the Primary Care Phased Investment Programme

We produce an annual summary of the current progress towards implementation of primary care multidisciplinary teams (MDT) with current progress set out in Primary care improvement plans: implementation progress summary - March 2024

From January 2024, we set up the Primary Care Phased Investment Programme to help further develop the evidence base on implementing the MDT.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) provides support to four demonstrator sites improving the implementation of two key MDT services: Pharmacotherapy and Community Treatment and Care (CTAC.

HIS also works with primary care services across Scotland to provide improvement support across the implementation of the MDT as well as to improve access to general practice services. The programme will build evidence to support the national implementation of the 2018 GMS Contract and will inform long term Scottish Government investment.

General practice nursing

General Practice Nurses (GPNs) play a vital role in supporting people to manage long-term conditions and in improving population health. Their role is set out in Developing the general practice nursing role in integrated community nursing teams.  

The Scottish Government works with professional GPN Leads from each NHS territorial board. GPN Leads provide leadership, guidance and peer support to all GPNs in their area. See contact details for GPN Leads.

General practice management

Practice managers, administrators, receptionists, care navigators and other members of the administration team are key to the effective running of general practice. The NHS Education for Scotland Core Competency Framework for General Practice Administration Staff and Practice Managers (2023) sets out the knowledge and skills required by those working in general practice management.

Addressing health inequalities

Although the causes of health inequalities largely lie in socio-economic conditions, general practice has an important role to play in how we address health inequalities. We work with a wide range of stakeholders on the varied opportunities for general practice to support efforts to reduce health inequalities and inequitable access to healthcare. This work is informed by the Primary Care Health Inequalities Short-Life Working Group recommendations: progress report 2023.

Through its role in prevention and early intervention, general practice helps to mitigate the health effects of social inequality. Community Link Workers (CLWs) working within primary care multidisciplinary teams demonstrate how general practice can provide people with non-clinical support for life circumstances which negatively impact on health and wellbeing. We have started a national review of CLWs which will end in 2026.

Since March 2023, we have also invested an additional £2.3 million in practices in the most disadvantaged communities in the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde board area through the Inclusion Health Action in General Practice (IHAGP) project. The Inclusion health action in general practice: early evaluation report provides evidence on the delivery and early impact of IHAGP.

GP premises

We set out our strategy for GP premises in the National Code of Practice for GP Premises  (November 2017).

Contact 

Email: PCImplementation@gov.scot