Government accused of ‘policy on the hoof’ over plans for GP walk-in clinics

John Swinney’s plans to create a new network  walk-in GP centres has been branded a “slap-dash, party political move” after it emerged the Health Secretary only took part in one meeting about the move the day before it was announced.

The First Minister told supporters at the SNP conference in October that his government was to establish 15 such centres – which will be open seven days a week – across the country.

Staffed by GPs and nurses, the Scottish Government hopes the new centres could provide a million additional appointments a year, and make it easier for people to see a doctor.

The plans were the headline announcement in Mr Swinney’s keynote speech to the SNP conference in October.

But details released under Freedom of Information showed that Health Secretary Neil Gray only had one meeting about the proposal – with this taking place the day before the First Minister’s speech.

Mr Gray discussed the policy at a meeting on October 12 with two senior figures from the British Medical Association (BMA) Scotland – with a Scottish Government special adviser and two civil servants also present at the talks.

With this discussions held the day before Mr Swinney’s speech, Labour health spokesperson Jackie Baillie said: “This demonstrates that the SNP would prefer to govern by press release and make policy on the hoof than come up with meaningful solutions to serious problems.”

She added: “That Neil Gray appears to have had just one official meeting about GP walk-in centres, the day before it was announced by John Swinney at SNP conference, shows that this was a slap-dash, party-political move, with details scribbled down at the last minute, and the Health Secretary having been left out of the loop.

“It is no wonder that this announcement raised more questions than answers, such as how these walk-in centres will be funded and where they will be located.”

The Labour MSP blasted: “This is just another sticking plaster by the SNP in a desperate attempt to fix the mess, while the crisis at the heart of the system goes ignored.”

A spokesperson for Mr Gray however insisted that the plans for walk in centres were “well under way”.

The spokesperson stressed: “In Scotland under the SNP, waiting lists are coming down, GP numbers are up and we saw record numbers of hip and knee replacements performed last year.

“Our plans for a network of seven day walk-in GP clinics across Scotland are well under way, and they are a direct result of our listening to people’s concerns about access to primary care and what is often called the 8am rush.”

Hitting out at Labour the spokesperson added: “By contrast, people in Scotland only have to look down south to see how poorly Labour manage the health service.

“In England, waiting times are rising month after month, and in Wales A&E waiting times performance is truly appalling.

“Labour couldn’t even bring themselves to vote for the record budget settlement that the SNP provided the NHS this year – and they will need to explain to people in communities across Scotland why they are unbelievably coming out against these vital walk-in clinics.”