RCGP Scotland responds to GP walk-in centre data

Commenting, RCGP Scotland Vice Chair (Policy) Dr Chris Williams said: "As a GP, I share patients' frustration when they experience difficulties accessing appointments. Patients should be able to see their trusted GP in a timely manner, and GPs are committed to supporting measures that genuinely improve access to care.

"GPs want to work constructively with government and partners to improve both the speed and quality of access to care. In our view, GP walk-in centres are not the solution. Instead, we would like to see a long-term GP workforce plan to increase the number of whole-time equivalent GPs and expand the capacity of general practice to deliver more appointments. Investment in modern telephony systems, online appointment booking, and improved digital infrastructure would also provide far greater benefits for patients and significantly improve access to appointments for patients.

"Walk-in GP centres were trialled extensively in England and ultimately failed to deliver the intended benefits. Evidence showed they did not meaningfully reduce pressures on general practice or A&E departments, risked widening health inequalities, represented poor value for money, duplicated services, and had the potential to destabilise existing healthcare services.

"It is difficult to see how ploughing substantial sums into duplication of existing services aligns with the Scottish Government's stated ambitions for public service reform and the efficient use of public expenditure.

"RCGP Scotland's position is that the pilot should not be expanded and existing sites should be rigorously evaluated. If, as we expect, the evaluation demonstrates that GP walk-in centres have had little impact on reducing pressures on general practice and do not represent good value for money, the pilot should be discontinued and the funding redirected to where it can make the greatest difference: core general practice."

Further information

Media requests to Marcus Carslaw, Policy and Public Relations Officer RCGP Scotland, Tel: 07808 795493 / marcus.carslaw@rcgp.org.uk   

Notes to editors:

• Public Health Scotland – General practice walk-in centres month ending 31 July 2026.
• In July, GP walk-in centres delivered an average of 120 appointments per day. By comparison, GP practices across Scotland provide around 136,000 patient contacts on a typical weekday. This means that the GP walk-in centres currently opened added approximately 0.09% of additional capacity.
• RCGP Scotland does not believe that the initial 15 pilot sites will deliver the promised 1 million annual appointments.