First up on the impartial Debate Night, is the impartial Doctor John Tobias.
Doctor Tobias doubts whether the SNP Walk in GP service will work. He says more money should be given to GPs !
He is a private GP and charges £170 per consultation ! pic.twitter.com/VsQPRA8f7o

— Eddie, Independence nothing less, 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 (@bigbenn1e) February 25, 2026

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Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04  Account - 12266421 Name - JOHN ROBERTSON

As you might expect, Dr John Tobias who, on his cv, claims that during COP26 in Glasgow he was chosen to be a personal physician to Heads of State, did not hesitate to rule on the new SNP walk-in GP centres as failures before they can even begin.

You can just hear him – ‘I don’t need researchers to tell me what to think! I know…..’

There is, however, research, lots of it, and I feel the need to review it before I go telling anyone else even what I think.

It is mixed. Some studies find no meaningful impact on overall GP demand or waiting times¹ and there is, overall, Insufficient high-quality evidence.²

However, there are also studies finding a reduction in emergency department (ED) visits and cost savings³, and high patient satisfaction and access.⁴

So, how do we, educated folk all of us, react to the above? Decide they’re a waste of time or, maybe, think we could try them in Scotland and evaluate them later? Hey’ that’s the SNP plan!

We could also, if we trusted the SNP Government, even a wee bit, to have looked at this research above and asked the project leaders:

Is there anything in the design of the new Scottish centres that might counter the negative consequences observed in earlier UK projects?

I asked Grok AI:

Yes, several design elements in the new Scottish walk-in GP centres appear intended to address or mitigate some of the negative outcomes seen in earlier English models, such as fragmented care, low utilization relative to needs, negligible systemic impact, and staffing challenges. These centres are part of a one-year pilot, which itself allows for structured evaluation and adjustments—unlike many past initiatives that lacked robust ongoing assessment. ^{5, 6}

Grok AI had a lot more to say, to evidence the above and to consider negatives too. I’ll leave you to ask your own AI the same question.

Sources:

1. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp3d5e950ego
2. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1314495
3. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7955766
4. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/1472-6963-13-142
5. https://www.gponline.com/scottish-government-considering-every-possible-option-boost-gp-premises/article/1941417
6. https://democracy.edinburgh.gov.uk/mgConvert2PDF.aspx?ID=93853

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Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04  Account - 12266421 Name - JOHN ROBERTSON