‘Golden hello’ offered to some new GPs in Scotland
Were just starting some work on how to tackle a similar challenge to this issue in rural Lincolnshire. It will have wider resonances – do you think the approach set out below has much to commend it?
The Scottish government is hoping to encourage more junior doctors to consider a career in general practice.
One hundred new GP training places are being advertised, with a £20,000 incentive for some who choose to take up hard to fill posts.
Some medical bodies are concerned Scotland is facing a GP crisis, with certain areas restricting patient lists because they are reaching capacity.
The Scottish government said it was refocusing the role of GPs.
The new scheme will offer a one-off bursary of £20,000 to trainees who commit to being trained in posts that have not been filled recently. Many of these are in isolated rural communities.
The posts qualifying for the incentive include placements based in Arran, Inverness, Fort William and Oban. Others are in Dumfries and Galloway, Angus, Aberdeenshire, Glasgow and Lanarkshire.
NHS Dumfries and Galloway’s Medical Director, Angus Cameron, told BBC Scotland: “This is excellent news. We believe we have superb training available in Dumfries and Galloway.