An MSP wants action taken to address an imbalance between the falling numbers of GP surgeries in Ayrshire - and an increased demand from patients.
South Scotland Labour List MSP, Colin Smyth, claims primary care in the region is “hanging in the balance.”
His comments follow new statistics released by the British Medical Association (BMA).
The statistics show that while patients requiring treatment have increased across the south of Scotland, the number of GP surgeries have either fallen, or stayed the same, when comparing 2023 with 2013.
In 2013, Ayrshire and Arran had 56 GP practices, compared with 54 in 2023.
However, the stats also show that the number of patients per whole time equivalent (WTE) to local GPs numbers have risen from 1,514 to 1,641.
The figures also show that in 2013, there were three GP vacancies across Ayrshire and Arran. In 2023, there are 22.
Across Scotland as a whole, the figures show one in 10 GP practices have formally closed their lists to new patients.
Mr Smyth said: “The very existence of primary care in our region is hanging in the balance.
“While the number of GP practices in Ayrshire and Arran has dropped over the past 10 years, demand has actually increased. Years of cuts and inaction have left our GPs unsupported with soaring demand and collapsing capacity.
“Without action now, we risk a full-blown primary care crisis in Scotland with thousands of Scots and whole communities without access to their GP. GPs are at breaking point.
“The Health Secretary Michael Matheson must heed the calls of the BMA and Scotland’s doctors and act before it is too late.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We are clear that patients who need to see a GP should always be seen.
“We have already delivered a record number of GPs working in Scotland, with more per head than any other country in the UK, and we are making good progress on our commitment to recruit at least 800 new GPs by 2027.
“Since 2017, Scotland’s GP headcount has increased by 291 to a record high of 5,209 in 2022.
“To support GPs, we have recruited over 3,220 healthcare professionals into multi-disciplinary teams. We are committed to investing £170 million a year to help grow these teams and to further increase the number of GPs in Scotland..
“A £20,000 bursary is offered as an incentive to GPs to increase rural and other hard to fill vacancies and trainee recruitment last year was the most successful year of any of the last five, with 99 per cent of GP training posts filled.”
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