Location of first walk-in GP clinic announced

The location of Scotland's first walk-in GP facility has been announced by the health secretary.

Neil Gray visited the Wester Hailes Healthy Living Centre in Edinburgh, where the first of the 15 new walk-in centres will be housed.

Gray said the new facility would help ensure more people "get the right care, in the right place, at the right time".

The Royal College of General Practitioners, however, questioned whether walk-in centres would make a significant impact and said they did not represent the best use of resources.

First Minister John Swinney initially announced plans to establish the new clinics in his speech to the SNP conference last October.

In this week's Scottish Budget funding of £36m was announced for the project - which Swinney has said would help tackle the so-called "8am rush" for doctors' appointments.

The centres should provide over a million more GP and nurse appointments, the first minister said.

The units will provide assessment and treatment for people with urgent but non-emergency medical problems, where patients need to be seen the same day but do not require hospital care.

Speaking as he visited the Wester Hailes site, Gray said he was "determined to keep driving forward improvements" in the NHS.

"Walk-in services will make it easier to access urgent care on the day it's needed, while easing pressure on GP practices and hospitals."

The new centres will be open seven days per week between 12:00 and 20:00.

Tracey McKigen, director of primary care at NHS Lothian, said the health board was "working closely" with the Scottish government, Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership and the Wester Hailes Healthy Living Centre to deliver the new service.

She said: "While plans are still being refined, we believe the new service will help improve access to primary care and complement existing local health services."

Patients at the Wester Hailes practice were mainly in favour of any efforts to improve the 08:00 appointment rush.

Catherine Linton, 81, had problems getting to see her doctor and came up with her own strategy.

"I have 12 GPs in my practice," she said. "You are asked to phone after 08:00, but by the time they answer, you are told you are 19th in the queue.

"Now, I go to the nearest bus stop, jump on the bus and I am outside the medical practice before it opens and then they can't tell me there are no appointments.

"This walk-in centre is a good idea if it works."

Simin, who is 61, said she often frustrated when trying to get an appointment.

"Reception are great and the doctors are great but the most difficult part is to get an appointment.

"When I phone at 13:30, they say call in the morning. When I phone in the morning at exactly 08:00, they say they are full.

"In the queue I am number 20 and I have no idea how they are all before me when I phone exactly at 08:00. I have so many health conditions, my heart, diabetes, other things and it's a year I've been trying to get appointments."

And 75-year-old Elizabeth Grant added that opening up the GP service might help other areas of the NHS.

She said: "There is an issue with appointments. I think the walk-ins would be good – it might save people going to the hospital".

Dr Chris Williams, vice chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners Scotland questioned the plans, saying walk‑in centres do "not represent a sound use of resources" and are unlikely to "have any meaningful impact on the 8am rush for GP appointments".

He said: "Evidence from England shows that walk‑in centres are more expensive to run than standard in‑hours general practice, can fragment care across multiple providers, and are predominantly used by younger, healthier patients with minor, self‑limiting conditions."

He added that should the trial of the centres fail, the government should "establish a clear exit strategy".

"The £36m allocated to this pilot would be better spent supporting patients to access their trusted GP in a timely manner," Williams added.

Ending the 8am rush for GP appointments is one of the big talking points of this year's election and a catchy new policy of setting up walk-in clinics is going down well with patients I talked to in Edinburgh today.

But in practice these services are not likely to be a return to days of old when patients would turn up and just wait to see their family doctor.

The first pilot in Wester Hailes could be up and running by next month. The initial idea is to provide extra GP, nurse and physio cover only for patients registered at several local practices.

It will operate more like an extended out-of-hours service where patients would ideally call NHS 24 and be directed there for care. However, there is a recognition that it will be available for some patients to walk-in if they have an issue and can't get a GP appointment.

Doctors have raised their concerns that walk-in clinics will have very limited impact in reducing the daily rush of calls and lack of appointments they can offer. They also worry it may lead to duplication or more administration because IT systems don't talk to each other.

But this is a pilot scheme and its success will only be assessed after the election is over.