Dr Iain Morrison is the new Chair of the Scottish general practice committee
Below is in excerpt from the BMA’s own website blog regarding the recent appointment of our former chair Ian Morrison:
It is an incredible honour to be elected the new Chair of SGPC. I have genuine optimism, that by working together as a community of active GPs, we can look forward to significantly better times ahead. General Practice is the answer to safeguarding free and effective healthcare for all.
But it is also true that we face huge challenges and it will be difficult to realise the potential we have during these times when we are being regularly told just how tight public finances are. However, what we will be making abundantly clear, is that when money is thin on the ground, if you need to get the most from it, you must invest directly into General Practice. We are not only the bedrock of the NHS but exceptionally economically productive and cost effective given the breadth and quality of care we provide.
Despite this however, we simply do not have enough GPs to meet demand and the trends in our workforce indicate that we are not making the progress we need to rectify this. Indeed, things are getting worse rather than better. It is clear that we need a fresh approach to help move us forward and reinvigorate our profession. The 2018 contract, despite significant investment, has failed to make our working lives substantially better and allow us to realise our true potential.
At its heart, this is about celebrating the value of General Practice and GPs. The MDT model is helpful in a supportive framework but it should not be seen as a replacement for the core work of GPs. It is on this basis that myself and the new SGPC leadership team will approach forging a positive relationship with the Scottish Government and other stakeholders.
But most of all, I look forward to working with GPs across Scotland. Confidence has been eroded and attempting to meet crippling demand has made the job less satisfying and lacking joy. This does not need to be the case.
We still have substantial autonomy to make things better ourselves. It is imperative that we protect the profession with the BMA workload guidance, and start to capture the true amount of time it takes to do the job we should be proud of. Restoring this pride for our work is right at the top of my priorities and I can’t wait to get started.
