Improving General Practice Sustainability Group: 2019 Report

4. Conclusion

The learning from the Improving General Practice Sustainability SLWG, the implementation of the new 2018 GMS Contract together the actions taken to address the Report recommendations have taken us a long way in addressing the sustainability issues facing general practice in Scotland. Significant progress has been made in delivering all four of the recommendations.

The vast majority of recommendations captured within the Action Plan (recommendation one) have or are being actioned with any outstanding recommendations being considered by the Working Group during 2018-19. It is proposed that, beyond these actions that no further work is done on the action plan in its current format.

HIS have taken the lead on developing a one stop shop for primary care improvement and are investigating extending the i-hub resource to include GP practice sustainability. The Scottish Government will continue to work with them to deliver and promote the use of this product.

The SAT has aided greater collaboration between individual practices and health boards in dealing with sustainability issues. The 2018 GMS contract will ensure that local systems receive a standard dataset (details yet to be agreed) on practice activity and demand that should complement use of the tool locally. It is recommended therefore that the tool continues to be made available as a resource for health boards but that no further development is necessary

In response to stakeholder feedback, and recognising that it will take time to realise some of the benefits of the new contract, the Working Group will continue to play a key role in supporting local partners to understand and address live sustainability issues. To meet this need the Working Group will continue to focus on delivering a programme of action learning meetings in various locations throughout Scotland in the short to medium term.