From the BMJ, yesterday:
The government has set out plans to allow general practices in England to hire 1000 more doctors this year through the additional roles reimbursement scheme (ARRS).
As of June 2024, according to the BMA, there were 27 670 FTE GPs in England.
Add the 1 000, a 3.6% increase, and there are 28 670 GPs FTE in England.
With one tenth of the population, all things being equal, Scotland might be expected to have 2 867 GPs FTE but had 3 478 FTE, 21% more.
Sources:
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
The independent health think tank, the Nuffield Trust has been responding to this and other early actions on health taken by the Labour government. (with my emphasis)
“Routing this funding through groups of GP practices known as Primary Care Networks is a pragmatic move to ensure this action can be taken quickly. But we should be clear that it is ultimately an interim solution and will likely have unintended consequences. Funding allocated through these networks doesn’t take account of levels of deprivation: this proposal risks worsening the already inequitable distribution of GPs between richer and poorer areas, and across different parts of the country.
“Government’s attention to general practice is welcome, and this workaround solution shouldn’t detract from the bigger questions about how to increase investment in general practice, and how we can retain and support the GP workforce.”
2. ‘What is the government’s pay offer to junior doctors and how much will it cost the NHS? A Q&A’ (August 2, 2024)
Sally Gainsbury, Senior Policy Analyst at the Nuffield Trust, states:
“… our calculations suggest that the costs of this settlement will be in the region of £600 million extra over the two-year period, or £530 million if pension contributions are excluded.
“The additional costs to the NHS for the financial year that ended in March 2024 are likely to result in the health service reporting a deficit for that year. We don’t yet know the financial envelope for this current financial year, as the Chancellor will confirm that at the budget in October.” (Given that NHS England doesn’t yet know’ that must mean the Scottish Government is in the dark over its budget position too?)
Elsewhere in its briefing the Nuffield Trust states: ‘It is not yet clear how the 2023/24 pay deal will be reported in the accounts, but for context, NHS England’s board reports show that it ended the financial year 2023/24 with just a £30 million surplus, clearly not sufficient to cover the £210 million extra cost now added to that year’s pay bill.’
3. ‘Significant blow to social care sector as workforce training fund cancelled’ (July, 30 2024)
Responding to the government’s decision to discontinue the Adult Social Care Training and Development Fund, Nuffield Trust Deputy Director of Policy, Natasha Curry said:
“Taking away limited funding that had been set aside for upskilling and training much needed social care staff looks desperately shortsighted and is a significant blow for the sector. This, taken on top of the indefinite delay to a cap on social care costs announced by the Chancellor, looks like yet another troubling decision to deprioritise social care in order to plug gaps in health funding.‘
The statement ends with this: “The new government states that it is committed to the workforce and long-term plans for social care reform. We now need to see concrete action to reassure that these promises are not simply rhetoric. Sadly, so far what we have seen is consistent with social care continuing to play poor relation to the NHS.”
I suppose, as is normal, the Scottish Government will just need to ‘spectate’ patiently until the Labour Westminster government works out all these health and social care matters to meet England’s needs and wants!
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Indeed ” the Scottish Government will just need to ‘spectate’ patiently until the Labour Westminster government works out all these health and social care matters to meet England’s needs and wants ” – Only then can SG work out what it may do with what funding, crucial to which is WHEN it may arrive…
eg – In a recent MSM Monitor piece contrasting reporting by BBC Scotland and STV,
https://x.com/msm_monitor/status/1819136870124585446
my attention was drawn to the opening ” more money will be coming to Scotland “, followed by the assertion this future and as not yet quantified “money” could avert imminent bin strikes 🙄
In reality SG has always had to wait and see, that’s what Westminster decision making causes…
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They will need to fund more than 1000 GPs. Funding NHS was £125 Billion a year. Not increased for 10 years till Covid. The Tories were trying to cut the budget.
Westminster funded COVID £270Billion over two years. Much of it wasted on unscrutinised contracts. No regulated properly. £370Billion over s lifetime.
Now pensioners will freeze in the winter putting up hospital admissions. Not enough to ear. More hospital admissions. Leaving pensioners in poverty puts up the cost of essential services and cuts life expectancy.
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So westminster is to fund an extra 1000 GP,s for england , at great cost , so what id Scotland getting ? and Wales and NI ? if westminster allocate extra funding in england then they should allocate a proportional amount of money to Scotland and to Wales and NI
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” This is a great pose, isn’t it? ” – Ah, the Kennedy waste of Space self Center 🤣
By far the greater question should be where these additional 1,000 doctors are coming from, the “Doctors’R’Us” store ?
It’s not just a question of A doctor though – Most doctors specialise in particular fields, and it’s here where there are shortages, even in Scotland.
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